f 2 . i , 2. 

LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Division 


Scction.s.> 


.1*5-12.1 

C537 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/chinatodaythrougOOIewt 


CHINA  TO-DAY 

Through  Chinese  Eyes 


CHINA  TO-DAY 


Through  Chinese 


BY 

Dr.  T.  T.  LEW 
Prof.  HU  SHIH  Prof. 

Dr.  CHENG  CHING  YI 


NEW 


YORK 


GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


China  To-day  Through  Chinese  Eyes 
— A — 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


FOREWORD 


For  the  delegates  of  the  World’s  Student  Christian 
Federation  Conference  in  Peking,  in  April  of  this  year, 
the  Chinese  Student  Christian  Movement  prepared 
some  account  of  the  “New  Tide  of  Thought,”  the 
great  Renaissance  Movement  which  is  sweeping 
through  China  to-day,  and  of  the  economic,  intellectual 
and  religious  forces  which  form  the  background  of  it. 

By  their  permission  we  reprint  striking  articles  con- 
tributed by  four  of  the  leaders  of  the  younger  genera- 
tion of  present-day  China,  and  two  articles  from  The 
Life  Journal , the  organ  of  a group  of  Christian  leaders 
of  the  Renaissance  Movement  in  Peking. 

Those  who  would  understand  the  intellectual,  reli- 
gious and  economic  forces  which  are  moulding  Chinese 
life  and  thought  at  this  time  cannot  do  better  than 
study  this  Chinese  account  of  them.  The  following  is 
a short  account  of  the  writers. 


WHO’S  WHO 


Dr.  T.  T.  Lew  is  Dean  of  the  Theological  Faculty- 
in  Peking  University;  Professor  in  another  College; 
Pastor  of  a Church,  and  Editor  of  The  Life  Journal — 
a paper  which  is  known  throughout  China,  and  is  the 
organ  of  the  Christian  leaders  of  the  Renaissance.  Dr. 
Lew  is  recognised  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most 
prophetic  members  in  the  Chinese  Church. 

Professor  Hu  Shih  (Suh  Hu).  One  of  the  ablest 
and  most  devoted  of  the  Renaissance  leaders.  He  is 
not  a Christian,  but  has  many  Christian  friends  and 
much  of  the  spirit  of  Christ.  He  has  done  more  than 
any  other  single  individual  to  replace  the  old  classical 
style  in  literature  by  the  Bai  Hwa  or  “plain  language/’ 
In  1916  he  took  the  revolutionary  step  of  publishing  a 
poem  in  the  vernacular  and  thus  showing  how  it  was 
the  best  expression  of  living  thought.  He  has  suffered 
persecution  for  his  boldness  in  disregarding  any  con- 
ventions which  hinder  progress.  The  spread  of  the 
Renaissance  Movement  to  all  classes  is  largely  due  to 
his  courageous  efforts,  which  have  put  the  new  thought 
not  into  the  language  of  the  pedant  and  scholar,  but  of 
the  common  man ; a change  as  significant  and  as  potent 
for  good  as  the  change  from  Latin  to  English  in  our 
own  country  at  the  beginning  of  the  European 
Renaissance. 

Professor  Y.  Y.  Tsu.  An  old  scholar  of  Union 
Seminary,  New  York,  is  a professor  at  St.  John’s 
College,  Shanghai — the  foster-mother  of  so  many  of 


Vll 


Vlll 


Who’s  Who 


China’s  ablest  young  leaders.  He  is  one  of  the  first 
Chinese  theologians — and  his  clear  thinking  and  thor- 
ough knowledge  and  understanding  of  Confucianism 
and  Buddhism  are  laying  sound  foundations  for  the 
theology  of  the  Chinese  Church. 

Dr.  Cheng  Ching  Yi.  One  of  the  greatest  figures 
in  the  Chinese  Church.  He  is  recognised  as  a leader 
whom  all  sections  trust  and  delight  to  follow.  He  was 
a representative  of  China  at  the  Edinburgh  Conference 
in  1910,  and  Chairman  of  the  recent  National  Confer- 
ence of  Christian  workers  in  Shanghai.  He  knows 
more  about  and  is  probably  more  representative  of  the 
Chinese  Church  than  any  other  Christian  leader  in 
China. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Foreword v 

Who’s  Who vii 

I China  To-Day 13 


Reprinted  from  The  Life  Journal 

II  China’s  Renaissance 21 

By  Timothy  Tingfang  Lew 

III  The  Literary  Revolution  in  China  . 48 

By  Hu  Shih  (Suh  Hu) 

IV  The  Confucian  God-Idea  ....  58 

By  Y.  Y.  Tsu 

V Present  Tendencies  in  Chinese  Bud- 
dhism   74 

By  Y.  Y.  Tsu 

VI  The  Impression  of  Christianity  Made 

upon  the  Chinese  People  through 
Contact  with  the  Christian  Na- 
tions of  the  West 94 

Reprinted  from  The  Life  Journal 

VII  The  Chinese  Church 

By  C.  Y.  Cheng  (Cheng  Ching  Yi) 


. . 103 


CHINA  TO-DAY 

Through  Chinese  Eyes 


CHINA  TO-DAY 

THROUGH  CHINESE  EYES 


i 

China  To-Day 

IT  is  a significant  fact  which  deserves  our  most 
serious  attention  that  the  Federation  Conference 
should  be  held  at  this  time  in  China.  China  of  to-day 
in  more  than  one  aspect  deserves  the  study  of  the 
members  of  the  Federation  who  have  the  interest  of 
the  world  at  heart. 

Politically,  China  is  in  a state  of  difficulty.  To  a 
casual  observer  the  difficulty  consists  of  disunity,  in- 
efficiency and  weakness.  One  hears  about  the  two 
governments,  one  in  Peking  known  as  the  Central 
Government,  and  one  in  Canton  known  as  the  Southern 
Government.  One  also  hears  of  the  undue  power  of 
the  military  governors  and  the  super-tuchuns  who  hold 
sway  in  the  various  parts  of  the  country.  They  even 
meddle  with  the  authority  of  the  Central  Government. 
There  is  lack  of  unity  in  policy  and  in  ideals. 

One  also  sees  and  hears  about  the  inefficiency  which 
is  apparent  everywhere  from  the  Central  Government 
down  to  the  local  administration  of  a city.  You  will 
find  antiquated  methods  being  still  used  alongside  of 
modern  methods.  Obstacles  and  interruptions  are 

*1 


14  China  To-Day 

abundant,  hindering  the  successful  application  of  new 
principles  and  plans.  Many  new  schemes  have  been 
introduced  and  many  new  plans  have  been  initiated, 
but  so  many  of  them  exist  only  in  name  and  form,  and 
not  in  actual  practice.  Worthy  enterprises  have  been 
launched  but  have  made  little  headway.  Inefficiency 
through  the  lack  of  public  spirit,  inefficiency  through 
the  lack  of  resources,  is  apparent  everywhere. 

One  also  sees  the  helplessness  of  the  nation’s  posi- 
tion in  the  world,  an  old  story  of  the  last  hundred 
years,  aggressions  from  foreign  nations  in  one  form 
or  another  which  have  made  the  country  a common 
prey.  The  economic  exploitation  which  is  rapidly  tak- 
ing the  place  of  political  aggression,  more  subtle,  and 
with  more  far-reaching  results  than  the  latter,  is  tower- 
ing over  the  present  and  the  future  of  the  nation. 

Thus  pessimists  are  easy  to  be  found  who  in  a few 
minutes’  time  can  relate  these  facts  to  visitors  and  make 
them  feel  that  China  is  indeed  hopeless  and  helpless, 
politically.  A closer  examination  of  events,  however, 
will  disclose  other  facts,  which  exist  in  spite  of  the 
disunity  of  political  control  due  to  the  various  political 
parties  and  the  military  generals.  There  is  a funda- 
mental and  essential  unity  among  the  people.  The  two 
most  important  organisations  of  the  nation,  the  Na- 
tional Educational  Association  and  the  National  Fed- 
erated Chambers  of  Commerce,  have  never  been 
affected  by  all  these  disturbances  and  interruptions. 
The  people  stand  as  one  unit  when  they  face  the  funda- 
mental problems  of  the  nation.  They  rise  above  the 
differences  and  they  are  free  from  the  interference  of 
military  power.  The  inefficiency  of  the  present  hour 
is  due  to  the  nature  of  the  work  and  of  the  necessary 
stages  through  which  a nation  must  go  during  a period 


China  To-Day  15 

of  transition.  There  are  abundant  facts  to  convince 
us  that  the  whole  nation  is  coming  out  of  the  old  self- 
satisfied  state  of  mind,  and  striving  to  push  forward. 
Much  of  the  inefficiency  is  not  a sign  of  inability,  but 
rather  a sign  of  growth ; for  the  nation  is  learning  and 
developing.  The  first  attempts  of  the  learner  are  neces- 
sarily full  of  defects  but  it  is  only  through  trial  and 
error  that  a nation  as  well  as  an  individual  can  learn. 
The  position  of  China  among  the  nations  of  the  world 
has  become  more  clearly  and  definitely  stated  by  her 
people  themselves  and  by  her  sister  nations.  In  the  face 
of  all  difficulties  and  the  existing  menace  of  economic 
exploitation,  the  people  have  a profound  faith  in  the 
ultimate  victory  of  truth  and  justice.  The  Chinese 
people  are  more  convinced  of  the  fact  that  interna- 
tional comity  is  not  only  desirable  and  possible,  but 
obligatory,  and  that  each  nation  should  contribute  her 
share  in  the  creation  and  maintenance  of  that  comity. 
In  short,  this  nation  is  in  a state  of  political  transition 
with  true  democracy  as  its  goal,  and  in  the  process  of 
attaining  the  goal  she  shirks  no  responsibility,  fears  no 
difficulty,  and  is  going  through  all  the  troubles  and 
experiences  of  the  effort.  China  also  has  world  democ- 
racy as  her  ultimate  hope,  and  in  that  hope  she  finds  en- 
couragement and  stimulus  in  her  efforts  to  reorganise 
and  develop  herself. 

Intellectually,  one  can  also  find  things  open  to  criti- 
cism. The  illiteracy  of  the  masses  is  still  very  high. 
The  educational  opportunities  for  the  mass  are  far 
from  satisfactory  and  sufficient.  Dense  ignorance  is 
prevalent.  Educational  equipment  and  support  of  in- 
stitutions of  all  grades  are  not  only  insufficient  but  even 
uncertain  in  some  places.  Superstitions  due  to  lack  of 
knowledge  are  still  rampant,  affecting  individual  and 


16  China  To-Day 

social  living.  Poverty  due  to  lack  of  scientific  eco- 
nomics and  technical  knowledge,  together  with  other 
causes,  is  all  prevailing.  The  general  view  of  a candid 
observer  is  discouraging. 

But  when  we  look  deeper  into  the  situation  we  im- 
mediately feel  the  beating  of  a strong  pulse.  China  as 
a nation,  in  fact,  is  in  an  age  of  a great  renaissance. 
The  time-honoured  custom  and  firmly  established 
habit  of  respecting  learning  and  the  learned  has  not  in 
any  way  diminished.  The  desire  for  knowledge  and 
the  diligence  to  acquire  it  is  increasing  in  intensity. 
During  the  last  five  years  great  change  has  been  brought 
about  in  connection  with  the  life  of  the  Chinese  people. 
Instead  of  merely  seeking  after  a knowledge  of  ex- 
ternal things,  the  Renaissance  Movement  has  been 
changing  the  people’s  general  attitude  toward  life.  This 
is  the  culmination  of  a long  process  of  intellectual  revo- 
lution which  has  been  going  on  ever  since  China  came 
into  contact  with  the  West.  The  emphasis  has  passed 
from  the  desire  merely  for  the  products  of  science,  to 
the  appreciation  of  the  principles  of  science,  from  the 
thirst  after  the  achievements  of  Western  civilisation  to 
the  attempts  to  interpret  the  meaning  and  value  of  such 
achievements.  The  Movement  now  is  to  pierce  into  the 
deeper  meaning  of  modern  science  and  philosophy,  not 
merely  to  adopt  its  superficial  externals.  Along  with 
this,  there  has  been  also  a marked  change  of  attitude 
toward  the  material  and  spiritual  achievements  of  the 
Chinese  race.  This  change  is  still  going  on.  It  is 
merely  a beginning.  The  Movement  has  put  up  as  its 
platform  four  big  tasks,  namely,  the  reorganisation, 
the  re-statement  and  the  re-evaluation  of  Chinese  civili- 
sation; the  importation  of  Western  civilisation  with 
critical  examination  of  it;  a thorough  and  scientific 


China  To-Day  17 

study  of  theories  and  facts ; a reconstruction  of  individ- 
ual and  social  life.  This  is  an  ambitious  platform  but 
the  progress  thus  far  has  been  encouraging. 

Educational  work  has  been  greatly  advanced.  In 
spite  of  the  lack  of  funds,  schools  multiply.  The  last 
two  or  three  years  have  witnessed  the  birth  of  several 
institutions  of  higher  learning.  Newspapers  have  in- 
creased both  in  number  and  in  circulation. 

The  Bai  Hwa  1 Movement  has  not  only  put  knowl- 
edge at  the  disposal  of  the  masses  by  giving  them  a 
more  effective  tool,  and  a tool  easier  to  acquire,  but 
has  also  changed  the  attitude  of  the  people  toward 
knowledge.  Knowledge  has  been  made  a democratic 
property  belonging  to  all.  No  less  than  two  hundred 
periodicals  have  come  into  existence  in  the  last  four 
years  as  the  response  to  this  Movement,  covering  all 
the  subjects  which  anybody  in  China  cares  to  discuss — 
from  the  scientific  treatment  of  an  historical  incident 
centuries  ago  to  the  latest  economic  or  political  theory 
known  to  the  world.  Foreign  books  are  translated  in 
large  numbers.  Not  only  are  these  books  better  trans- 
lated than  ever  before,  but  a wiser  selection  is  being 
made.  In  scholarship  we  have  witnessed  the  production 
of  some  very  valuable  contributions  to  the  re-interpre- 
tation of  Chinese  philosophy  and  Chinese  history.  A 
beginning  is  also  made  on  the  methodology  of  studying 
things  Chinese  and  things  Western.  Leaders  in  educa- 
tion have  made  a distinct  advance  in  conducting  thor- 
ough surveys  of  educational  conditions  and  needs.  They 
are  hard  at  work  at  genuine  constructive  measures  and 
are  making  fundamental  changes  in  educational  policy. 
The  National  Educational  Association  has  also  passed  a 
measure  which  involves  a radical  reform  of  the  whole 

1 ‘‘plain  language,”  see  pp.  vii,  26,  55. 


i8 


China  To-Day 

educational  system.  The  emphasis  upon  vocational 
education  represented  by  the  China  Vocational  Educa- 
tion Association,  is  also  gaining  headway  in  various 
parts  of  China.  In  short,  China  has  in  the  last  few 
years  attained  a clearer  vision  of  the  goal  of  intellectual 
development,  has  received  a new  driving  force  to  push 
on  to  this  goal,  and  has  acquired  an  unprecedented 
freedom  with  which  to  reach  this  goal. 

Religiously,  one  can  even  state  in  stronger  terms 
the  darker  side.  The  historical  religions  in  China  have 
shown  an  impotency  and  lack  of  vitality.  Superstitious 
beliefs  still  hold  power  over  the  ignorant  masses,  not  for 
better  living  but  as  a bondage  and  an  obstacle  to  the  free 
-development  of  the  individual.  Old  standards  of  moral- 
ity have  received  shocks  from  the  invasions  of  modern 
ideas.  Everywhere  one  sees  discrepancies  and  malad- 
justments. The  craving  after  material  property  has  out- 
run the  desire  for  spiritual  enlightenment.  Destructive 
forces  have  come  in  from  various  directions  without 
the  sign  of  constructive  relief  measures.  Indifference 
to  religion  and  the  contempt  for  religion  is  gradually 
spreading  on  the  one  hand,  and  a strange  outcropping 
of  superstitious  sects  preying  upon  the  ignorant  masses 
is  found  on  the  other  hand.  It  is  indeed  a situation  in 
which  religion  may  be  said  to  be  at  a low  ebb. 

Yet,  the  brighter  side  has  never  been  brighter.  Many 
superstitions  have  been  destroyed  by  the  flooding  in  of 
intellectual  light.  Political  and  social  change  have  also 
shattered  idols  of  centuries’  standing.  Thoughtful 
people  are  coming  more  and  more  to  see  the  need  of 
moral  strength  for  the  task  of  reconstruction.  It  is  a 
significant  fact  that  the  older  religions  have  started  re- 
form within  themselves.  Reinterpretation  and  reor- 
ganisation have  become  the  battle-cry  of  the  followers 


China  To-Day  19 

of  these  religions.  No  less  than  half  a dozen  new 
journals  have  come  into  existence  within  the  last  few 
years  in  Buddhism  alone.  While  materialistic  philoso- 
phy and  antitheistic  teaching  are  gaining  headway,  there 
are  increasing  numbers  of  young  men  and  women  who 
turn  their  faces  toward  religion  for  the  solution  of  life’s 
problem.  School  girls  and  educated  men  in  the  prime 
of  life  have  left  their  schools  and  their  occupations  and 
joined  the  ascetic  life  of  Buddhism.  The  attempt  to 
reorganise  Confucianism  into  a religious  church,  al- 
though it  has  met  with  much  opposition,  is  yet  gaining 
adherents  in  many  quarters.  All  these  point  toward  an 
increasing  sense  of  religious  need  felt  by  the  people  at 
large.  In  addition  to  that  there  is  also  the  recognition 
of  the  universal  element  in  religion.  An  organisation 
has  been  born  with  the  aim  of  unifying  the  old  religions 
and  calls  itself  the  “Society  for  the  Common  Good.” 
While  the  organisation  has  not  yet  achieved  any  result 
worth  serious  consideration,  yet  it  is  at  least  a sign  of 
the  desire  for  religious  unity.  While  the  Renaissance 
Movement  in  the  main  pays  very  little  respect  to  re- 
ligion, and  does  not  recognise  the  necessity  of  religion, 
yet  by  its  very  principle  of  free  inquiry  and  critical 
judgment  it  has  encouraged  people  to  study  religion  and 
to  study  it  seriously.  In  fact,  a religious  revival  is  on 
its  way  to  China. 

Within  the  Christian  church  there  is  a rapidly  de- 
veloping consciousness  of  a Chinese  church.  The  desire 
for  an  indigenous  church  which  does  not  sever  its  con- 
tinuity from  the  historic  churches  of  the  West,  but  takes 
full  cognizance  of  the  spiritual  and  racial  inheritance  of 
the  Chinese  people,  has  become  the  rallying  point  of 
many  Christians.  Along  with  it  there  is  the  insistent 
desire  for  a more  thorough  understanding  and  more 


10 


China  To-Day 

adequate  interpretation  of  Christian  teaching,  and  a 
more  effective  application  of  it  to  social  and  individual 
life.  From  every  part  of  the  country  Christians  are 
yearning  for  better  preachers,  better  Christian  literature 
and  a more  thorough  Christian  programme.  Among 
the  missionary  workers  in  the  field  there  have  been 
an  increasing  number  of  people  who  have  enlarged 
the  scope  of  Christian  missionary  endeavour,  and  have 
come  to  appreciate  the  necessity  of  restating  the  mis- 
sionary aim,  so  as  to  make  it  more  comprehensive  and 
more  effective  in  meeting  the  needs  of  the  people  whom 
they  have  been  loyally  serving.  Beginnings  have  been 
made  toward  greater  efficiency  in  missionary  service 
through  union  and  fuller  co-operation.  Such  new  quali- 
ties combined  with  the  growing  consciousness  of  the 
Chinese  church  itself  promise  great  development. 

As  we  look  forward  into  the  future  we  see  many 
problems  ahead  of  us  in  industrial  development,  in 
economic  change  and  in  the  disintegration  of  the  family- 
system  as  the  result  of  the  various  forces  at  work. 
China  is  at  the  cross-roads.  Is  she  heading  towards 
full  emancipation  and  progress  or  to  narrow  and  one- 
sided development  and  confusion?  Shall  China  go 
through  all  the  mistakes  and  the  travail  of  Western 
nations  in  her  next  few  decades  of  transformation  or 
shall  she  be  able  to  profit  by  their  experience? 

There  is  no  time  more  critical  and  yet  more  full 
of  promise.  There  is  no  time  when  consultation  and 
co-operation  on  the  part  of  Christian  leaders  is  more 
urgently  needed  to  make  their  contributions  to  the  sal- 
vation of  the  nation — a nation  which  includes  one- 
fourth  of  the  human  race. 


II 


China’s  Renaissance 

By  Timothy  Tingfang  Lew, 

Acting  Dean,  Faculty  of  Theology,  Yen  Ching  University f 

Peking 

i:  WHAT  IS  china’s  RENAISSANCE? 

CAREFUL  students  of  oriental  history  will  have 
noticed  that  there  are  four  important  stages 
through  which  China  has  gone  in  the  last  hundred  years. 
The  great  empire,  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  world  on 
account  of  its  geographical  limitations,  began  to  have 
its  barriers  broken  down  through  modern  steamships, 
and  the  sleeping  giant  was  rudely  awakened  by  the 
naval  powers  of  the  West.  About  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  the  Chinese  people  began  to  take 
serious  notice  of  the  scientific  and  military  powers  of 
Western  nations.  They  gradually  realised  that  there 
was  something  which  the  Western  nations  possessed 
and  they  themselves  did  not  have.  This  change  of 
opinion  toward  the  West  began  the  movement  for  in- 
troducing modern  mechanical  science.  From  that  time 
on  until  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a 
period  of  forty  years,  several  leading  statesmen  did  all 
they  could  to  overcome  prejudices,  and  started  the 
building  of  arsenals  and  shipyards  and  a navy,  and 

21 


22  China  To-Day 

the  translating  of  Western  books  related  to  these  forms 
of  activity.  The  change  was  gradual,  but  nevertheless 
significant.  A perusal  of  the  writings  of  scholars  and 
memorials  to  the  throne  by  progressive  officials,  and 
the  papers  written  by  the  candidates  for  Government 
examinations  will  show  that  there  was  an  increasing 
number  of  people,  year  after  year,  whose  attention  vras 
directed  toward  the  movement  for  introducing  that 
which  in  their  sight  made  the  Western  nations  strong. 

Then  came  the  war  with  Japan,  with  its  defeat.  A 
second  change  began  its  operation,  for  people  began 
to  realise  that  it  was  not  merely  guns  and  battleships 
.and  such  mechanical  devices  that  represented  the  source 
<of  Western  power.  More  than  a navy,  guns  and  ma- 
chinery, was  needed — the  men  behind  the  guns,  the 
minds  that  control  the  navy,  and  skilful  hands  to  operate 
the  machinery.  Thus,  attention  was  shifted  from  the 
outward  scientific  mechanisms  toward  the  training  of 
men  to  meet  the  scientific  demand,  and  the  movement 
for  New  Learning  became  popular.  The  old  examina- 
tion system  was  to  be  abolished  and  a new  educational 
system  to  be  introduced,  but  this  important  movement 
was  frustrated  by  the  coup  d'etat  of  1898,  with  its 
^subsequent  reaction  of  1900,  which  put  China  in  a very 
awkward  situation  politically. 

When  the  nation  passed  through  the  excruciating 
pains  of  the  Boxer  struggle,  the  third  change  was 
brought  about,  for  people  began  to  see  that  without  a 
new  system  of  government  there  could  be  very  little 
progress  along  the  line  of  education.  Thus  the  people 
directed  their  attention  to  the  reformation  of  the  gov- 
ernment. Some  directed  their  efforts  toward  the  attain- 
ment of  a constitutional,  monarchical  form  of  govern- 
ment ; but  others  joined  the  ranks  of  those  working  for 


China’s  Renaissance  23 

a revolution,  which  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
monarchy  and  the  establishment  of  The  Republic. 

Since  19 11,  the  people  have  been  led  to  see  that  a 
mere  change  of  government,  while  it  has  brought  many 
boons  and  freed  people  from  many  evils  that  are  in- 
herent in  the  monarchical  form  of  absolute  control,  is 
not  enough,  and  that  the  secret  of  the  strength  of  a 
country  and  the  regenerate  life  of  a nation  has  to  come 
through  a more  far  reaching  change  than  that  of  a 
change  of  governmental  system.  The  time  was  ripe 
for  the  fourth  change,  the  change  of  point  of  view,  a 
movement  for  a change  in  the  philosophy  of  life. 

This  movement  is  a logical  sequence  of  a series  of 
past  changes.  It  burst  into  bloom  like  a glorious 
flower  whose  bud,  protecting  leaves,  twigs  and  root  can 
be  traced  without  much  difficulty,  though  its  beauty 
and  richness  crown  the  whole  process  of  growth  and 
startle  the  onlooker.  To  this  movement  we  shall  give 
the  name  of  “China’s  Renaissance,”  and  in  this  short 
article  we  shall  endeavour  to  give  a few  of  its  im- 
portant aspects  and  its  significance,  not  only  for  the 
Chinese  people  themselves,  but  also  for  the  world. 

II : WHAT  ARE  THE  PREDOMINANT  NOTES  OF  EMPHASIS? 

We  call  this  movement  “China’s  Renaissance”  be- 
cause, first  of  all,  it  is  a movement  primarily  of  learn- 
ing. It  has  its  nursery  in  some  of  the  leading  higher 
institutions  of  the  land,  and  the  people  who  were  im- 
mediately connected  with  the  movement  and  who  have 
rendered  the  most  significant  service  are  the  university 
and  college  professors  and  the  students. 

Second,  this  is  a movement  of  many  sided  interests, 
touching  the  life  of  society  and  the  life  of  the  individual 
at  many  points. 


24  China  To-Day 

Third,  it  is  a movement  which  advocates  a more 
ardent  study  of  things  Chinese,  of  all  things  ancient, 
literature,  history  and  philosophy,  but  by  the  application 
of  new  methods  of  research. 

I Fourth,  this  is  a movement  which  welcomes  every- 
' thing  new  from  whatever  source. 

Fifth,  this  is  a movement  which  centres  its  interest 
around  man — man  in  the  present  world,  man  in  this 
life,  and  aims  at  the  improvement  of  the  well-being 
of  man  and  to  hasten  its  progress. 

Sixth,  this  is  a movement  which  places  a peculiar 
emphasis  upon  art,  besides  its  emphasis  on  literature. 

The  movement  in  Chinese  is  usually  known  as  the 
“Hsing  Wen  Hua  Yuan  Tung  which  literally  trans- 
lated would  be  “The  New  Civilisation  Movement ” for 
its  hope  is  to  recast  the  old  civilisation  and  to  build  up 
a new  one.  Taking  the  movement  as  a whole,  we  will 
note  that  there  are  certain  predominant  points  of  em- 
phasis. 

First,  there  is  the  emphasis  upon  science : science  of 
every  kind,  and  science  in  its  various  aspects,  is  em- 
phasised. Science  as  a method  is  strongly  advocated 
and  persistently  followed.  Before  its  sceptre  all  au- 
thorities, ancient  and  modern,  must  pass  in  review. 
Nothing  is  to  be  accepted  unless  it  can  stand  the  tests  of 
the  scientific  method. 

Second,  there  is  an  equal  emphasis  upon  democracy. 
The  movement  has  been  a relentless  foe  to  despotic 
government  and  autocratic  institutions  of  every  sort. 
Its  work  is  a searchlight  to  expose  the  faults  and  weak- 
nesses of  the  systems  that  are  undemocratic.  It  causes 
their  shortcomings  to  stare  in  the  faces  of  the  people. 
It  stirs  up  men’s  reason  against  them,  and  it  pushes 
on  like  a mighty  force  to  fight  against  them.  „ 


China’s  Renaissance 


25 

Third,  there  is  the  emphasis  upon  social  reform.  The 
movement  has  been  increasing  in  the  intensity  of  its 
social  point  of  view.  Different  from  all  past  move- 
ments, it  calls  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  fact 
that  since  it  is  the  people  who  constitute  the  nation,  it 
is  the  people  who  sustain  the  government.  No  reforma- 
tion of  government  could  effectively  be  made  by  merely 
changing  the  political  organisation.  If  there  is  any 
hope  for  a reform  at  all,  it  must  begin  with  the  people. 
Social  problems  in  their  technical  sense  therefore  be- 
come the  fundamental  problems,  and  a social  point  of 
view  becomes  the  all-embracing  point  of  view.  The 
movement  is  seriously  discussing  how  to  reconstruct  the 
family  system,  how  to  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the 
people,  and  particularly  of  those  people  who  belong  to 
the  so-called  socially  inferior  strata.  The  problem  of 
labour  and  capital,  the  problem  of  non-employment,  the 
problem  of  divorce  and  all  the  problems  that  are  related 
to  social  improvement  have  taken  the  centre  of  interest. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  movement  lays  the  emphasis 
upon  relentless  thoroughness.  The  movement  has  thus 
far  proved  to  be  one  which  has  unusual  courage  and 
persistency.  No  obstacle  is  too  great  to  overcome,  and 
no  compromise  is  small  enough  to  be  tolerated.  It  does 
not  rest  satisfied  with  any  temporary  shiftwork  or 
patchwork,  it  aims  at  a thorough-going  change,  if  any- 
thing needs  change  at  all.  So,  there  is  nothing  too 
radical  for  examination.  Conventions  and  traditions 
have  lost  their  prestige.  Time-honoured  practices,  if  in 
any  way  they  do  not  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  present 
day,  are  to  be  cast  aside,  root  and  branch,  altogether. 
Proprieties  and  customs  which  have  ruled  for  centuries, 
give  way  unless  they  can  withstand  the  challenge  that  is 
being  put  to  them.  The  movement  does  not  hesitate  to 


26 


China  To-Day 

overturn  every  stone  in  the  social  structure  if  in  doing 
so  it  sees  the  promise  of  a new  and  better  structure. 

Ill : WHAT  ARE  ITS  CHIEF  ACTIVITIES? 

With  these  main  emphases  the  movement  has  carried 
on,  or  rather  expressed  itself  in  many  forms  of  activity, 
a few  of  which  are  worthy  of  special  attention. 

First,  its  leaders  are  working  for  a thorough  reform 
of  the  Chinese  written  language.  The  vast  territory  of 
China,  embracing  400,000,000  inhabitants,  owing  to  its 
geographical  structure  and  its  insufficient  transport 
facilities,  has  gradually  developed  a number  of  dialects, 
which  while  fundamentally  similar  in  syntax  and  word 
construction,  are  different  in  pronunciation  and  in  many 
cases  in  the  expressions  used.  But  the  nation  was 
united  under  the  one  system  of  the  written  language, 
which,  though  pronounced  differently  when  read  accord- 
ing to  the  variations  of  the  different  dialects,  yet  carries 
the  same  meaning  and  is  uniformly  understood  through- 
out the  country.  But  this  wTritten  language  has  a his- 
tory of  several  thousand  years.  It  has  been  developed 
and  over-developed  in  its  intricacy,  in  its  beauty  and 
richness.  Its  relation  to  the  spoken  language  is  very 
similar  to  that  which  existed  between  Latin  and  the 
various  spoken  vernaculars  of  European  nations  a few 
centuries  ago.  It  does  not  require  much  effort  for  the 
average  student  of  history  to  realise  the  inconveniences 
which  were  experienced  by  the  peoples  of  Europe  a 
few  centuries  back  when  all  learning  was  perpetuated 
through  Latin,  and  how  the  different  vernaculars  of  the 
various  nations  gradually  shook  off  the  bondage  of 
Latin,  and  made  for  themselves  worthy  places  in  the 
evolution  of  European  civilisation.  Now,  China  has 
just  been  facing  the  same  difficulty.  All  education  is 


China’s  Renaissance  27 

carried  on  with  the  classical  style  of  writing  as  its 
medium.  It  is  a beautiful  and  precious  heritage  of  the 
race,  but  it  is  not  a convenient  tool  for  an  age  in  which 
education  must  be  made  democratic  and  within  the 
reach  of  every  citizen.  The  Renaissance  Movement  in 
China,  therefore,  has  concentrated  its  effort  in  the  last 
three  or  four  years  on  fighting  for  a place  for  that 
which  is  known  as  the  conversational  style  of  writing. 
This,  hitherto,  has  been  confined  to  the  writing  of  cer- 
tain novels  and  has  never  been  regarded  as  the  language 
of  polite  writing.  But  it  has  the  advantage  over  the 
classical  style  in  its  directness,  in  its  simplicity  and  in 
the  closeness  to  the  everyday  conversational  vernacular. 
The  effort  of  enthroning  this  style  of  writing  in  the 
place  of  the  classical  style  has  been  nothing  short  of 
a terrific  war  waged  between  the  scholars — a multitude 
of  scholars  on  the  one  hand  and  a handful  of  leaders 
of  the  new  movement  on  the  other.  But  the  latter  have 
won  the  war.  They  have  been  consistently  urging  upon 
the  nation  that  everything  must  be  written  in  this  collo- 
quial style,  for  it  is  only  by  doing  so  that  we  can  shake 
off  the  shackles  of  the  undemocratic  ideas  which 
through  their  representatives  were  the  patrons  of  the 
classical  style.  The  old  classical^  style  has  been  moulded 
and  shaped  to  show  the  differences  of  the  higher  and 
the  lower,  the  ruler  and  the  ruled.  It  was  made  diffi- 
cult so  that  it  could  not  be  a handy  tool  for  the  common 
people.  It  has  also  been  imbued  with  the  superstitions 
of  the  ages,  thus  making  it  unfit  as  a category  to  be 
employed  by  men  of  science. 

This  work  is  very  fundamental  for  in  it  all  the  points 
of  emphasis  of  the  movement  find  their  concrete 
expression : scientific  methods,  democratic  principles, 
social  idealism  and  thorough-going  reconstruction. 


28 


China  To-Day 

This  work  ha9  been  justifying  itself  because  it  has 
given  people  a new  tool  for  expression.  The  conversa- 
tional style  hr  3 been  steadily  improving  itself  in  dic- 
tion, in  clearness,  in  brevity  and  other  fine  qualities.  It 
has  also  revolutionised  poetical  writings.  Free  verse 
has  been  introduced  which  has  liberated  the  inarticulate 
thought  and  feeling  of  many  inspired  hearts. 

Second,  the  movement  has  been  working  hard  in 
introducing  the  literature  of  foreign  nations.  China 
has  been  engaged  in  translating  foreign  books  for 
years,  but  always  with  two  defects.  First,  there  has 
been  the  defect  in  selection.  The  selection  has  been 
rather  narrow  and  along  certain  lines  and  the  choice 
has  been  largely  superficial.  Second,  the  translations 
have  been  rendered  in  the  old  classical  style.  The  new 
wines  were  put  into  old  bottles  with  the  result  that  both 
were  spoiled.  This  movement  with  its  effective  tool 
of  expression  in  the  conversational  style  has  remedied 
the  second  of  these  two  defects  and  with  remarkable 
rapidity  it  has  introduced  into  China  all  kinds  of 
Western  writings  which  possess  fundamental  signifi- 
cance. One  will  be  surprised  to  find  the  kindNof  sub- 
jects that  are  being  discussed  in  the  Chinese  magazines 
and  books  and  daily  newspapers,  and  the  points  of  view 
expressed  and  theories  advocated  therein.  The  move- 
ment has,  therefore,  also  remedied  the  first  of  the  two 
defects,  the  one  of  superficiality  and  narrowness  in  the 
choice  of  books  to  be  translated,  and  of  theories  to  be 
imparted  and  of  topics  to  be  discussed.  One  can  pick 
out  from  any  bookstore  a score  of  magazines  and 
books  in  which  one  finds  the  same  kind  of  subject 
matter  as  one  would  find  in  any  assorted  collection  of 
magazines  and  books  to  be  found  in  the  bookstores  of 
London,  New  York,  Paris  or  Berlin. 


China’s  Renaissance  29 

Third,  the  movement  has  started  the  systematic  re- 
search of  the  Chinese  civilisation  of  the  past.  The 
vast  amount  of  philosophical  writings  which  have  hith- 
erto been  left  in  unorganised  form  are  now  being  sys- 
tematically reduced  in  order  and  being  put  within  the 
reach  of  the  understanding  of  the  average  student. 
Canonical  writings  of  ancient  sages,  writings  which 
have  been  held  in  awe  and  reverence,  to  be  memorised 
and  to  be  revered  and  not  to  be  criticised  or  scrutinised, 
are  now  being  put  through  the  rigid  test  of  higher  and 
lower  criticism.  They  are  examined  and  evaluated, 
and  interpreted  for  the  average  mind.  The  most  popu- 
lar books  include  the  volumes  of  the  History  of 
Ancient  Chinese  Philosophy , History  of  the  Thought 
of  the  Manchu  Dynasty,  and  books  of  a like  interest. 
The  application  of  scientific  methods  of  historical  criti- 
cism, the  liberation  from  slavish  obedience  to  the  past, 
the  new  interest  in  social  reformation  and  the  un- 
daunted courage  with  which  thoroughness  is  aimed  at, 
these  combined  are  giving  new  impetus  to  the  study  of 
things  Chinese  and  the  treasures  of  China’s  past. 

Fourth,  the  movement  has  encouraged  the  organisa- 
tion of  groups  and  societies,  local  and  national,  to 
study  the  various  problems  in  a democratic  and  open 
way.  One  can  hardly  make  a complete  list  of  the  vari- 
ous! organisations  that  are  springing  up  in  various  quar- 
ters throughout  the  land,  emphasising  one  aspect  or 
another  of  the  movement,  and  encouraging  the  study 
of  one  social  problem  or  another.  Some  of  these  are 
naturally  short-lived,  but  there  are  quite  a few  which 
are  full  of  promise  for  an  important  future.  The 
movement  has  developed  a habit  among  people,  and 
particularly  among  students,  of  being  dissatisfied  with 
existing  conditions.  It  encourages  them  to  study  pres- 


30  China  To-Day 

ent-day  problems  with  all  seriousness  and  with  all  the 
facilities  within  their  reach.  To  mention  just  a few 
names : — “Society  to  Discuss  Family  Reconstruction,” 
“Science  Society/’  “Society  for  Promoting  New  Edu- 
cation,” “Philosophical  Society,”  “Marxian  Society,” 
will  suffice  to  show  us  the  varieties  and  the  breadth  of 
the  interest  this  movement  represents. 

Fifth,  the  movement  has  given  birth  to  several  hun- 
dred new  periodicals,  weeklies,  monthlies,  quarterlies 
and  annuals.  My  last  census,  which  was  naturally  in- 
complete because  made  last  winter,  showed  that  there 
were  over  two  hundred  periodicals,  all  written  in  the 
conversational  style,  and  discussing  all  kinds  of  prob- 
lems, from  Civic  Liberty  to  Communism,  Women’s 
Education  to  Birth  Control,  and  from  an  Interpreta- 
tion of  Dante  to  Criticism  of  Dostoievsky.  The  num- 
ber of  periodicals  is  still  increasing,  although  some  of 
them  have  been  outlived  by  others,  and  it  will  be  not 
only  surprising  but  also  really  interesting  for  a West- 
erner to  see  some  of  the  magazines  which  may  include 
in  a single  issue  a complete  play  by  Hauptmann, 
Maeterlinck,  Bjomsen,  or  Oscar  Wilde.  In  the  same 
volume  one  may  find  an  abstract  of  the  philosophy  of 
Bergson,  a discussion  on  Eucken,  a criticism  of  Ber- 
trand Russell,  and  the  review  of  a book  by  John  Dewey. 
New  terms  are  being  created  and  new  expressions  in- 
troduced which  dazzle  the  reader’s  eyes  and  create 
hunger  for  some  study  in  order  to  get  further  explana- 
tion. 

Sixth,  the  movement  has  been  crystallising  the 
efforts  of  various  leading  organisations  that  promote 
learning  and  some  of  the  higher  institutions  to  invite 
Western  scholars  to  lecture  in  China.  There  has  been 
organised  in  Peking  the  society  known  as  “The  So- 


China’s  Renaissance  31 

ciety  for  Lectures  on  New  Learning,”  patronised  by 
distinguished  publicists  and  co-operated  in  by  the 
National  Universities  and  Colleges.  The  society  with 
its  co-operators  has  been  instrumental  in  bringing  over 
to  China  several  of  the  world’s  leading  scholars.  John 
Dewey  of  America  was  the  first  one  thus  honoured. 
Bertrand  Russell  followed.  Driesch  and  Bergson  are 
expected  to  come  in  the  near  future  and  plans  have  been 
under  way  to  invite  other  scholars  from  Europe  and 
America.  Those  who  are  interested  in  education  also 
organised  what  is  known  as  “The  Educational  Survey 
Society.”  Paul  Monroe  of  America  has  been  invited 
to  make  a thorough  and  critical  survey  of  the  present- 
day  education  of  China.  All  these  societies  are  sup- 
ported by  voluntary  contributions  and  the  approval  and 
co-operation  of  the  leading  scholars,  educationists,  and 
publicists  of  China.  The  visiting  scholars  have  found 
a hearty  welcome  everywhere  they  went,  and  whatever 
they  had  to  present  was  eagerly  examined  and  care- 
fully scrutinised.  The  works  of  these  scholars  find 
considerable  sale  in  their  original  languages  in  China 
and  translations  into  Chinese  are  being  rapidly  turned 
out.  The  conservative  publishers  in  some  cases  have 
been  surprised  at  the  good  sale  of  these  books,  seem- 
ingly obscure  and  difficult  to  understand.  One  illustra- 
tion will  suffice.  When  Bertrand  Russell  was  lecturing 
in  Peking,  an  arrangement  was  made  to  take  down  his 
lectures  verbatim  and  a special  monthly  was  published, 
known  as  The  Russell  Monthly.  The  first  issue  was  to 
be  6,000  copies.  The  publisher  undertook  the  order 
with  reserved  distrust,  but  later  on  confided  to  the 
editor  of  the  monthly  that  he  never  dreamed  that  6,000 
copies  were  not  enough  and  that  further  editions  would 
actually  be  in  demand. 


32  China  To-Day 

IV : WHAT  IS  IT  ACCOMPLISHING? 

Any  discerning  reader  will  gain  from  the  discussion 
thus  far  an  idea  of  what  importance  the  movement  has 
with  all  these  emphases  and  activities.  The  movement 
in  its  definite  expression  is  only  a few  years  old.  One 
needs  perhaps  to  reserve  his  judgment  as  to  its  future, 
but  one  cannot  be  blind  to  the  effect  which  it  already 
has  produced,  however  uneven  it  may  be  in  various 
places.  Only  a few  of  the  outstanding  points  of 
importance  will  be  enumerated. 

First,  it  has  been  revolutionising  the  thinking  of  the 
students.  The  movement  has  worked  upon  the  mental 
isolation  of  the  people  as  previous  movements  have 
acted  upon  the  geographical  isolation  of  the  nation. 
One  after  another,  the  closed  doors  have  been  broken 
open  and  impassable  barriers  removed.  The  oriental 
horizon  of  the  people,  particularly  of  the  students,  is 
being  steadily  expanded.  They  see  problems  which  did 
not  exist  for  them  before.  They  acquire  points  of  view 
which  were  beyond  them  in  the  past.  They  are  given 
categories  in  which  to  think,  which  were  not  at  their 
disposal  in  days  gone  by,  and  they  are  being  drilled 
in  new  methods  of  using  their  thinking  capacity.  They 
are  given  the  freedom  to  think  as  they  see  fit  and  as 
the  situation  demands.  They  do  not  have  to  bow  down 
before  ancient  authorities  which  have  controlled  their 
thoughts  and  the  thoughts  of  their  ancestors  for 
generations. 

Second,  it  is  giving  birth  to  a rational  and  better 
balanced  national  consciousness.  All  students  of  China 
have  noticed  the  development  and  growth  of  national 
consciousness  in  China  in  the  last  few  decades,  but  a 
careful  analysis  will  find  that  it  has  gone  through 


China’s  Renaissance  33 

various  stages.  There  was,  first,  tne  stage  in  which 
the  nation  was  rudely  shocked  by  foreign  invasions,  but 
comforted  itself  in  its  past  greatness  and  the  blind  con- 
fidence in  its  past  power  to  overcome  all  difficulties. 
Then,  it  went  through  the  stage  which  was  character- 
ised by  reactions  born  out  of  the  desperate  situations 
involved  in  its  efforts  to  check  foreign  aggression. 
Such  efforts  resulted  in  anything  but  improvement  of 
the  situation.  The  nation  then  went  through  the  third 
stage,  which  was  characterised  by  a kind  of  discour- 
agement which  magnified  the  helplessness  of  the  situa- 
tion, coupled  with  timid  confusion,  undue  recognition 
of  the  strength  of  modem  powers,  and  a stoic  resigna- 
tion toward  existing  conditions  as  unavoidable.  The 
movement  came  at  this  critical  stage  to  awaken  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people  new  courage  and  hope.  It  points 
out  the  way  for  reformation  and  for  change,  however 
difficult  and  gigantic  the  task  may  be.  It  teaches  the 
people  not  to  be  discouraged  simply  because  the  prob- 
lem is  difficult,  by  pointing  out  to  them  that  each  nation 
has  its  own  difficult  problems.  It  teaches  the  people  to 
be  neither  the  slaves  nor  the  scoffers  of  the  past,  but  to 
study  the  past  with  a fresh  insight,  for  it  believes  that 
the  Chinese  race  with  its  history  of  5,000  years  has  a 
valuable  spiritual  inheritance  which  being  properly  in- 
terpreted will  furnish  a great  deal  of  that  which  China 
needs  to-day.  It  teaches  the  people  neither  prejudice 
against  things  foreign  nor  the  acceptance  of  them  with- 
out reserve,  but  to  learn  from  other  nations  as  a humble 
disciple  the  things  which  China  does  not  possess  in 
equal  measure,  and  to  strive  to  make  contributions  to 
other  nations  as  she  should.  In  the  last  few  years,  one 
can  notice  that  the  educational  efforts  in  China  have  ? 
been  centred  around  a desperate  fight  to  overthrow  that 


34  China  To-Day 

idea  of  nationalism  which  has  been  imported  from 
Japan — a narrow,  self-centred,  selfish  nationalism,  and 
replace  it  by  a well-balanced,  democratic  nationalism 
such  as  is  demonstrated  by  the  better  part  of  the  demo- 
cratic nations  of  the  West  and  reinforced  by  the  peace- 
loving  nature  of  the  Chinese  people. 

Third,  it  has  inaugurated  a nation-wide  tendency  to 
progress.  The  movement  has  made  people  acquire  a 
wholesome  dissatisfaction  with  existing  conditions. 
Such  dissatisfaction  has  been  most  difficult  to  develop 
among  people  who  have  a great  past  to  revere,  and  who 
have  deeply  ingrained  habits  due  to  the  long  life  of  the 
nation.  Both  of  these  factors  have  inevitably  led  the 
people  into  self-satisfaction,  and  on  the  top  of  this 
there  also  come  the  economic  stringency  due  to  a great 
population.  All  these  combined  to  create  an  inertia 
both  in  the  individual  and  in  the  nation  against  the 
adoption  of  things  new  and  against  the  continual  effort 
necessary  after  renewal.  This  movement  has  “hit  the 
mark.”  It  creates  dissatisfaction  and  it  does  more 
than  that.  It  helps  to  make  every  dissatisfaction  more 
specific  and  concrete,  it  constantly  reminds  people  that 
such  dissatisfaction  can  only  be  ended  by  putting  forth 
proper  efforts,  adopting  right  methods,  and  reinforcing 
these  with  persistence.  Nothing  is  too  new  to  be  dis- 
cussed in  China  to-day,  and  nothing  too  radical  for 
experiment.  Given  opportunities,  one  is  reasonably 
sure  that  in  a few  years  many  experiments,  social  and 
political,  may  be  made.  Thorough-going  changes  will 
be  put  into  actual  practice,  for  this  movement  will  not 
rest  satisfied  with  any  temporary  amelioration  of  the 
sufferings  and  difficulties ; it  has  in  it  the  seed  of  per- 
petual life,  pushing  on  and  on. 

Fourth,  the  importance  of  the  movement  .can  further 


China’s  Renaissance  35 

be  noticed  by  its  ability  to  permeate  the  whole  fabric 
of  the  nation.  The  movement  began  with  the  univer- 
sity professors  and  students,  and  it  is  now  rapidly 
trickling  through  the  various  strata  of  society.  Books 
and  periodicals  are  being  read  by  various  kinds  of  peo- 
ple. New  ideas  are  invading  families  of  even  the  most 
conservative  sort.  Authorities  are  shattered  in  various 
quarters.  Many  changes  that  are  going  on  may  not 
clearly  and  definitely  be  credited  to  this  movement,  yet, 
nevertheless,  they  are  being  fed  by  the  inspiration  and 
encouragement  of  this  movement.  It  is  a significant 
fact  that  in  this  movement  it  is  neither  the  leaders  nor 
the  formal  organisations  that  figure  the  most.  In  fact, 
the  movement  takes  upon  its  own  shoulders  as  one  of 
its  tasks  the  dethroning  of  every  idol,  and  it  makes  no 
attempt  to  establish  any  nation-wide  formal  organisa- 
tion or  to  state  any  definite  platform.  The  pervading 
atmosphere  which  it  creates  everywhere,  the  subtler  in- 
fluence which  works  upon  the  minds  of  thinking  people, 
and  its  persuasive  ability  to  encourage  people  to  make 
a right-about  turn,  these  constitute  the  power  of  the 
movement;  and,  what  is  more,  its  tenacity  in  clinging 
to  whatever  quarter  it  is  invading,  is  bound  to  make  the 
influence  of  the  movement  permanent  wherever  it  takes 
root. 

Fifth,  and  what  is  most  important  of  all,  it  is  leading 
people  on  to  search  for  a new  philosophy  of  life.  The 
movement  has  again  and  again  brought  people  back  to 
the  fundamental  question,  “What  is  life?”  and  “What 
is  the  philosophy  of  life?”  Young  and  old,  men  and 
women,  teachers  and  students,  are  inquiring  into  this 
fundamental  question.  They  have  discussed  the  prob- 
lem. They  have  debated  over  it.  They  have  written 
on  it,  and  some  of  them  have  died  for  it.  Thus  far, 


36  China  To-Day 

the  movement  has  told  people  that  the  rational  life,  fol- 
lowing the  principles  of  science,  working  for  the  social 
improvement  of  the  whole  with  eyes  wide  open  to  the 
problems  of  the  present — this  constitutes  the  gist  of  the 
best  philosophy  of  life.  It  is  very  noteworthy  that  the 
attitude  of  the  movement  towards  religion  is  imma- 
ture, dogmatic  and  one-sided,  and  yet  full  of  promise. 
This  leads  me  to  the  next  main  topic,  the  effect  of  the 
movement  upon  religious  life. 

v:  WHAT  IS  ITS  SIGNIFICANCE  FOR  THE  RELIGIOUS 
LIFE  OF  THE  PEOPLE? 

Any  thorough-going  discussion  of  this  problem  will 
naturally  be  an  elaborate  one.  Elsewhere  1 I have  pre- 
sented the  various  aspects  of  the  attitude  of  the  move- 
ment toward  religion  in  general  and  Christianity  in 
particular,  and  its  effects  upon  Christianity  in  general 
in  China.  Space  only  permits  of  the  barest  outline. 
Here  the  outstanding  views  with  regard  to  religion  are 
of  the  following  kinds : — 

First,  some  challenge  the  necessity  of  religion  in  a 
world  of  science. 

Second,  some  emphasise  the  fact  that  religion  needs 
more  adequate  interpretation  and  assistance  from 
philosophy. 

Third,  some  urge  the  purification  of  religion  from 
superstition  and  dogmatic  beliefs  and  despotic  control. 

Fourth,  some  advocate  the  substitution  of  aesthetics 
for  religion  because  the  former  contains  all  the  values 
which  religion  possesses. 

Fifth,  some  doubt  that  religion  offers  any  benefit  at 
all  that  is  unmixed  with  evil  and  whether  the  game  is 
worth  the  candle. 

1 Chinese  Recorder,  May,  1921,  pub.  in  Shanghai,  China. 


China’s  Renaissance 


37 

Sixth,  some  believe  that  it  is  possible  as  well  as  desir- 
able to  obtain  all  the  values  such  as  spirit  and  courage 
and  faith,  and  to  claim  the  products  of  religion,  without 
accepting  religion  itself. 

Seventh,  some  point  out  the  fact  that  religion  is  in- 
dispensable because  no  human  being  can  escape  the  four 
inevitable  facts  of  life — birth,  sickness,  age,  and  death. 

This,  roughly  and  briefly,  represents  the  various 
views  on  the  subject  of  religion  which  have  been  pre- 
dominant in  this  movement. 

VI : WHAT  SIGNIFICANCE  HAS  IT  FOR  CHRISTIANITY  IN 
CHINA? 

For  us  Christians  the  problem  that  is  of  tremendous 
interest  is  the  attitude  of  the  movement  toward  Chris- 
tianity, with  some  of  its  effects. 

First  of  all,  the  movement  challenges  the  place  of 
Christianity  in  individual  and  national  life,  for,  if  the 
existence  of  any  religion  is  in  question,  Christianity 
cannot  alone  escape  the  same  tests.  Is  Christianity 
really  a mere  concomitant  of  the  backwardness  of  civi- 
lisation, and  absence  of  science,  and  an  incomplete  phi- 
losophy? If  so,  shall  China  continue  to  be  contented, 
like  the  rest  of  the  world,  with  the  existing  conditions 
of  the  past  which  made  religion  more  or  less  useful? 
Or,  shall  China  work  for  a better  civilisation  and  a 
greater  progress  in  science  and  a more  reliable  philoso- 
phy rather  than  accept  provisionally  a temporary  relief 
through  religion?  Or,  if  she  chooses  such  temporary 
relief,  should  that  religion  be  Christianity? 

Second,  the  movement  encourages  the  study  of 
Christianity.  Christianity  has  in  China  passed  through 
three  stages.  The  first  stage  was  one  of  pure  prejudice 
on  account  of  its  being  something  newly  introduced  by 


38  China  To-Day 

foreigners.  Then  it  went  though  a stage  of  contempt 
for  its  alleged  crudity  and  inadequate  presentation, 
owing  to  the  difficulties  involved  in  using  the  Chinese 
language  and  understanding  the  Chinese  people  and 
thought  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries. 

Then  we  come  to  the  third  stage,  the  stage  of  indif- 
ference, an  indifference  which  closed  the  door  more 
tightly  than  either  prejudice  or  contempt.  This  indif- 
ference is  now  being  removed  by  this  movement.  For 
the  very  principle  of  this  movement  forbids  indiffer- 
ence, to  say  nothing  of  prejudice.  Christianity  does 
constitute  a problem  of  society;  it  is  a problem  of  the 
people,  and  it  is  also  a problem  of  the  philosophy  of 
life.  At  the  very  least  it  is  a problem ! And  as  such  it 
deserves  a critical  examination  before  we  pronounce 
our  verdict  of  rejection  or  acceptance.  For  this  very 
reason  Christianity  is  finding  people  who  are  paying  it 
earnest  attention  as  a subject  worthy  of  study  and  dis- 
cussion in  circles  and  among  individuals  where  Chris- 
tianity never  had  a chance  of  being  heard  heretofore. 

Third,  this  movement  is  making  way  for  Chris- 
tianity. Both  Christianity  and  this  movement  have 
found  a common  foe  in  the  existing  superstitions, 
whether  in  the  life  of  the  individual  or  of  society. 
Much  of  the  work  of  Christianity  has  been  fighting 
against  superstitions  which  were  the  products  of  igno- 
rance. The  ignorance  may  be  due  to  a lack  of  scientific 
knowledge  of  the  natural  world  or  due  to  the  lack  of 
critical  insight  into  the  spiritual  life.  Christianity  has 
been  waging  an  incessant  war  in  the  last  century,  ever 
since  her  arrival  upon  the  soil  of  China,  against  idola- 
trous worship,  the  trust  in  pseudo-scientific  astrology, 
popular  trust  in  distorted  practices  based  upon  certain 
relics  of  half-understood  philosophy,  and  many  other 


China’s  Renaissance  39 

similar  beliefs  and  practices,  parallels  to  which  his- 
torians could  easily  find  in  the  history  of  European 
peoples  in  former  ages.  Christianity  has  fought  these 
wars  almost  single-handed.  Now  this  movement  is 
fighting  against  the  very  same  enemies  and  with  even 
greater  relentlessness.  By  its  very  tenet  of  accepting 
nothing  unless  it  is  critically  examined  and  proven  to 
be  worthy  of  acceptance,  it  has  knocked  down  and 
shattered  many  an  idol  which  has  held  sway  over  the 
people  and  which  Christianity  has  often  failed  to  root 
out  as  completely  as  she  wanted  to. 

Fourth,  this  movement  has  directly  or  indirectly 
given  recognition  to  Christian  work.  It  is  only  blind 
prejudice  or  unscientific  partiality  which  could  make 
one  deny  the  various  contributions,  however  limited 
they  may  be  in  scope,  which  Christianity  has  made 
towards  the  social  progress  of  China  in  the  last  fifty 
years.  The  fight  which  Christians  waged  against  the 
evil  of  opium  is  a notable  one.  The  fact  that  the 
opium  was  introduced  into  China  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet  by  a Christian  nation  often  overshadows  the 
heroic  fight  Christians  put  up  through  all  these  years. 
The  introduction  of  free  medical  service  according  to 
modern  scientific  practices  has  another  notable  record. 
One  can  mention  other  items  which  have  directly  or 
indirectly  contributed  to  social  progress  or  which  have 
led  others  to  work  for  that  end.  But  these  good  works 
of  Christians  have  been  given  very  little  proper  recogni- 
tion, simply  because  they  were  under  Christian  auspices ; 
to  the  average  mind  it  was  taken  as  a necessary  part 
of  the  scheme  of  propaganda.  The  real  significance  of 
social  service  as  an  expression  of  Christian  faith  and 
the  real  motive  power  which  is  behind  all  these  Chris- 
tian social  services  have  not  been  properly  understood. 


40  China  To-Day 

This  movement  with  its  increasing  emphasis  upon 
social  progress  and  humanitarianism  has  opened  the 
eyes  of  the  people  to  see  the  real  value  and  proper 
motive  of  social  service.  The  raison  d'etre  of  various 
forms  of  Christian  activities  is  gradually  being  under- 
stood and  the  simple  notion  of  regarding  all  Christian 
social  service  as  a mere  scheme  of  propaganda  with 
ulterior  motives  is  gradually  passing  away. 

Fifth,  as  a natural  consequence,  this  movement  prom- 
ises the  possibility  of  increasing  popular  support  to 
Christian  work.  One  is  not  ready  to  say  that  this  move- 
ment will  lead  people  to  accept  the  Christian  faith  and 
help  them  to  bear  the  Christian  yoke  of  service,  but 
through  its  continual  instruction  there  will  be  more 
people  who  appreciate  social  service  and  who  will 
acquire  some  of  the  fundamentals  required  in  the  carry- 
ing on  of  any  form  of  social  service.  The  people  will 
be  better  prepared  to  respond  to  any  Christian  call  for 
social  betterment.  They  will,  at  least,  understand  what 
Christians  are  trying  to  do.  One  can  thus  within  a 
safe  limit  prophesy  that,  if  this  movement  should  go 
on  without  wavering  from  its  social  principle,  it  will 
give  indirect  and  even  direct  support  to  genuine  Chris- 
tian work.  Indications  of  this  kind  are  already  not 
lacking.  “Anti-bad-habit  societies,”  “Social  service 
clubs,”  “Free  Schools  for  the  children  of  the  poor,” 
conducted  by  volunteers  and  many  other  similar  activi- 
ties are  being  organised  by  students  all  over  the  coun- 
try, and  in  the  large  centres  these  societies  and  organisa- 
tions have  proved  their  readiness  to  co-operate  with 
similar  societies  and  organisations  founded  under 
Christian  auspices.  Christian  theology  may  not  attract 
the  students,  but  Christian  expressions  of  social  service 


China’s  Renaissance  41 

have  furnished  a common  ground  upon  which  all  forces 
can  unite. 

Sixth,  the  most  important  effect  which  this  move- 
ment has  upon  Christianity  and  the  students’  life  is  to 
be  found  in  the  creative  work  of  the  conversational 
style  of  the  written  language  which  has  been  described 
above.  Christianity  came  to  China  out  and  out  as  the 
gospel  for  the  poor,  the  gospel  for  the  ignorant,  and 
the  gospel  for  those  who  are  in  darkness.  The  Bible 
was  translated  into  the  vernacular  as  well  as  into  the 
classical  written  language,  but  the  predominant  usage 
in  the  Christian  church  throughout  the  century  was  the 
vernacular  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  most  of  its 
tracts  and  books  were  written  in  the  vernacular.  For 
this  reason  Christianity  was  looked  down  upon  and 
suffered  seriously  at  the  hands  of  the  public.  There 
was  very  little  respect  for  Christianity  because  the 
obtrusiveness  due  to  its  strangeness  was  aggravated 
by  its  undue  simplicity.  It  was  regarded  as  a religion 
beneath  the  attention  of  the  elite  and  the  cultured.  But 
Christianity  held  on  its  way  unwaveringly.  This  move- 
ment has  suddenly  declared  to  the  people  that  the 
ancient  classical  language,  the  beautiful,  the  elegant,  the 
difficult-to-understand,  the  polite,  was  also  the  high- 
brow, the  autocratic,  the  undemocratic,  the  anti-social, 
unfit  for  citizens  of  a republic.  That  which  is  to  be 
honoured  because  it  is  useful,  because  it  is  good  for 
the  many,  because  it  is  within  reach  of  all,  because  it 
can  be  acquired  in  a much  shorter  time,  is  the  very 
vernacular  which  they  have  despised.  It  points  out  the 
fact  that  they  despised  the  vernacular  simply  because 
they  were  fooled  by  the  autocrats  who  used  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  classical  language  to  keep  knowledge  from 
the  people  and  to  make  their  own  position  look  more 


42  China  To-Day 

dignified.  Students  of  to-day,  while  studying  the 
classical  language  in  institutions  of  higher  learning 
have  made  an  almost  right-about  turn  in  their  attitude 
toward  the  vernacular,  and  the  kind  of  vernacular  which 
they  are  adopting  and  developing,  whose  style  and 
beauty  they  are  creating,  is  very  near  to  the  type  of 
vernacular  which  has  been  used,  advocated,  and  taught 
in  the  Christian  church.  What  a tremendous  change 
of  opinion  this  involves  one  can  hardly  realise  in  its 
fullness. 

Seventh,  this  change  in  the  problem  of  literature 
brings  about  a latent  possibility  of  revival  in  Christian 
learning  because  the  effect  of  this  change  is  beneficial 
in  a mutual  way.  Not  only  the  non-Christians  have 
thereby  acquired  a better  and  more  correct  attitude 
toward  the  Christian  literature,  but  also  the  Christian 
students  themselves  have  begun  to  realise  how  much 
there  is  to  be  done  in  improving  the  vernacular  which 
has  been  in  vogue  in  the  Christian  Church  heretofore. 
For  this  movement  not  only  aims  at  using  the  ver- 
nacular as  a tool  for  expression,  but  is  also  trying  to 
make  the  vernacular  a basis  for  a new  literature  not  less 
elegant  or  less  effective  than  the  ancient  classical  lan- 
guage. Christian  students  are  therefore  urged  to  work 
for  a better  and  more  perfect  vernacular,  in  which  to 
present  Christian  faith  and  Christian  thought,  to  inter- 
pret Christian  experience,  and  to  express  Christian 
aspirations.  Under  such  pressure  of  encouragement 
one  can  confidently  look  forward  to  the  production  of 
an  amount  of  new  Christian  literature,  more  expres- 
sive, more  beautiful,  and  more  worthy  of  its  content. 

Eighth,  there  will  be  also  a deepening  and  enrich- 
ment of  Christian  experience  and  Christian  faith  among 
the  students  who  are  already  Christians  in  China.  No 


China’s  Renaissance  43 

intelligent  Christian  student  who  is  not  out  of  touch 
with  the  currents  of  the  time  can  be  free  from  the 
healthy  influence  of  this  movement.  The  very  inquir- 
ing attitude  and  critical  temper  with  which  this  move- 
ment has  filled  the  atmosphere  affects  also  the  Christian 
students  and  produces  revolutionary  effects  upon  their 
faith.  They  begin  to  ask  questions,  they  begin  to 
search  for  the  whys  and  wherefores  of  every  Christian 
doctrine  and  ecclesiastical  practice.  Their  views  of  the 
Bible  are  being  put  through  a hot  crucible.  People 
begin  to  be  interested  in  the  formation  of  the  canons 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  and  in  the  origins  of 
Christian  traditions,  and  to  appraise  the  values  of  ortho- 
doxy. With  proper  guidance  such  a self -initiative 
activity  of  mind  can  produce  very  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  the  Christian  life  of  the  individual  students 
and  through  them  to  the  Christian  life  of  the  Church 
as  a whole. 

VII : WHAT  IS  ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  WORLD  BROTHER- 
HOOD OF  STUDENTS? 

One  can  see  even  at  a glance  what  bearing  the  effects 
produced  by  this  movement  upon  the  students  of  China 
have  upon  the  brotherhood  of  students  throughout  the 
world,  for  there  are  several  points  of  great  importance 
that  deserve  the  attention  of  this  brotherhood. 

First  of  all,  we  may  note  the  very  significant  fact 
that  the  interests  of  students  in  China  from  now  on 
are  becoming  identical  with  the  interests  of  students 
throughout  the  world.  The  problems  which  interest 
the  Chinese  students  are  the  very  problems  which  are 
of  interest  to  the  students  of  other  nations.  They 
admire,  they  scoff  at,  they  criticise,  they  worship  the 


44  China  To-Day 

same  group  of  savants,  philosophers,  scientists,  heroes, 
and  martyrs.  As  fast  as  new  theories  are  being  ad- 
vanced and  made  known  in  other  nations  they  are  dis- 
cussed by  the  students  in  their  publications  and  in  their 
forums.  With  the  increasing  facility  for  translation, 
new  books  are  being  translated  which  guide  and  direct 
the  attention  of  Chinese  students  along  the  same  chan- 
nels through  which  the  thoughts  of  the  students  of 
other  nations  are  moving. 

Second,  we  should  note  the  more  significant  fact 
that  the  Chinese  students  are  not  only  interested  in  the 
same  problems  as  those  in  which  the  students  of  other 
nations  are  interested,  but  they  are  also  thinking  on 
these  same  problems  in  the  same  categories  and  using 
the  same  terms.  This  is  going  on  in  two  ways.  First, 
the  translation  of  the  terms  and  categories  from  foreign 
languages  into  Chinese,  and  second,  there  is  an  increas- 
ing number  of  students  studying  foreign  languages. 
The  latest  deliberations  of  the  National  Educational 
Association  in  China,  representing  every  province  of 
the  Republic,  recorded  in  its  new  programme  for 
national  education  the  requirement  that  every  student 
going  through  the  college  or  university  should  learn  at 
least  two  foreign  languages.  This  shows  the  trend  of 
the  times.  In  education,  in  politics,  in  commerce,  and 
in  every  line  of  thought,  the  students  are  brought  into 
contact  as  far  as  the  conditions  permit,  with  the  latest 
and  most  popular  categories  of  thinking  in  foreign 
nations.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  Chinese  students 
absorb  these  and  make  them  their  own  ha9  been  very 
noteworthy. 

Third,  there  is  a still  more  important^  fact,  more 
important  than  the  interest  in  the  same  problems,  more 


China’s  Renaissance  45 

important  than  thinking  in  the  same  categories,  and 
that  is  the  setting  up  of  the  same  aims  and  the  cher- 
ishing of  the  same  hopes.  Take,  for  instance,  interna- 
tional brotherhood  and  universal  peace.  What  higher 
aim  and  what  more  blessed  hope  can  one  entertain? 
The  Chinese  students  even  in  these  critical  hours  of 
their  national  destiny,  facing  internal  difficulties  and 
external  aggression,  are  still  working  for  the  same  high 
aim  and  fostering  the  same  high  hope  which  the  very 
best  students  throughout  the  world  are  working  for 
and  cherishing.  They  are  trying  their  best  to  take  the 
sting  out  of  the  hardship  which  China  is  suffering  under 
the  international  injustices  of  the  last  few  years  by 
keeping  alive  their  faith  in  the  final  victory  of  justice 
and  righteousness.  Against  the  very  enemies  which 
are  encroaching  upon  the  sovereignty  and  blighting  the 
future  of  their  country  they  are  using  not  the  weapon 
of  blind  hatred,  but  the  solemn  warning  that  the 
righteous  forces  for  universal  world  brotherhood  ulti- 
mately shall  triumph.  It  is  very  significant  that  this 
movement  while  stirring  up  the  nation  by  reminding 
the  students  day  after  day  that  unless  they  fight  a 
decisive  battle  for  a regenerated  nation  there  is  no  hope 
for  China,  yet  through  the  same  mouthpiece  has  never 
failed  to  preach  the  gospel  of  the  brotherhood  of  men 
throughout  the  world. 

There  are  other  hopes  and  there  are  other  aims, 
expressed  or  unexpressed,  held  by  the  students  of 
other  nations  which  are  finding  echoes  and  spiritual 
responses  among  the  Chinese  students.  The  same 
successes  inspire  the  students  of  China  and  the  students 
of  other  nations,  and  the  same  failures  dishearten  them 
equally. 


46  China  To-Day 

VIII : WHAT  HOPES  DOES  THIS  MOVEMENT  INSPIRE? 

Facing  the  tremendous  power  of  this  unprecedented 
movement,  shall  we  as  the  members  of  the  student 
brotherhood  of  the  world  not  confidently  hope  for 
great  results? 

First  of  all,  shall  we  not  hope  that  the  Chinese 
students  in  going  through  this  process  of  mental  revo- 
lution in  their  growing  contact  with  the  minds  of  the 
West,  will  profit  not  only  by  the  passing  thoughts  of 
the  West,  but  also  by  the  actual  experience  of  this 
rapidly  moving  age?  The  students  of  the  West  and 
the  people  of  the  West  in  general  are  going  through 
many  experiments  and  tests.  Their  successes  and 
failures,  their  bitterness  and  joys  can  all  be  of  tre- 
mendous value  to  the  Chinese  students,  so  that  in  the 
process  of  social,  national  and  racial  transformation 
the  Chinese  people  should  not  have  to  go  through  all 
the  profitless  and  misdirected  ways  of  the  past.  They 
need  not  begin  where  the  Western  nations  started,  but 
where  the  latter  left  off. 

Second,  shall  we  not  also  hope  that  the  students  of 
China,  with  the  rich  heritage  of  a noble  past,  and  with 
fine  innate  qualities  recognised  by  all  impartial  students 
of  the  world,  in  going  through  the  process  of  restudying 
the  wisdom  of  the  sages  and  reinterpreting  the  spiritual 
inheritance  of  their  race,  reappraising  the  value  of  their 
5,000  years  of  national  experience,  may  make  such 
contributions  as  will  not  only  be  beacon  lights  to  them- 
selves but  also  to  the  world? 

Third,  when  these  two  processes  are  going  on  can 
we  not  find  a surer  ground  for  hope  of  a genuine  and 
lasting  internationalism — an  internationalism  that  is 
based  not  on  treaties  and  covenants  which  can  be  torn 


China’s  Renaissance  47 

up  at  any  time  as  mere  scraps  of  paper,  an  internation- 
alism which  is  based  not  upon  clever  interpretations 
of  carefully  worded  promises  which  can  be  manipulated 
and  twisted  in  the  hands  of  knaves  as  the  very  weapon 
to  destroy  its  own  life,  but  an  internationalism  based 
upon  the  unity  of  interest,  unity  of  thought,  unity  of 
aims  and  hopes,  and  unity  of  hearts. 

The  students  of  China  are  ready.  LWhat  will  the 
students  of  other  nations  do? 

January , 1922. 

Peking. 


Ill 


The  Literary  Revolution  in  China 

By  Hu  Shih'  (Suh  Hu) 

Professor  of  Literature,  National  University,  Peking 

IN  order  to  appreciate  the  full  significance  of  the 
literary  revolution  in  China,  the  reader  will  do  well 
by  recalling  the  history  of  the  rise  of  the  national 
languages  of  modern  Europe.  Hardly  five  centuries 
have  passed  since  Latin  was  the  recognised  literary 
language  of  whole  Europe.  Italy  was  the  first  to  revolt. 
Dante,  Petrarch  (in  his  youthful  days),  and  Boccaccio 
produced  their  best  works  in  the  dialect  of  Tuscany, 
and  the  popularity  of  their  writings  succeeded  in  finally 
making  the  Tuscan  dialect  the  national  language  of  the 
Italian  people.  By  that  time,  the  dialect  of  Paris  was 
fast  becoming  the  official  language  of  France.  In  1539, 
Francis  I.  ordered  that  all  public  documents  should  be 
in  the  French  of  Paris,  though  it  was  still  foreign  to 
nearly  half  of  the  population  in  the  kingdom.  In  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  there  arose  the  group 
of  French  poets  known  as  the  Pleiade,  who  consciously 
advocated  the  use  of  the  French  language  as  a means 
of  poetic  expression.  Rabelais  and  Montaigne  achieved 
an  even  greater  success  in  prose.  Thus  by  the  end  of 
the  sixteenth  century  the  French  of  Paris  -became  the 
undisputed  national  language  of  France. 

48 


The  Literary  Revolution  in  China  49 

The  case  of  modern  English,  being  more  similar  to 
that  of  modern  Chinese,  is  all  the  more  instructive. 
As  late  as  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
there  were  three  main  dialects  competing  for  supremacy 
in  England.  The  Southern  dialect,  spoken  south  of 
the  Thames,  was  the  most  conservative,  being  full  of 
old  forms  and  inflections.  The  Northern  dialect,  which 
extended  from  the  Humber  to  Aberdeen,  was,  owing  to 
the  Danish  settlements,  undergoing  such  rapid  and 
radical  changes  that  it  became  almost  an  entirely  new 
language.  Between  these  two  extremes  stood  the  Mid- 
land dialect,  which  was  more  or  less  comprehensible 
to  the  speakers  of  both  dialects.  This  Midland  dialect, 
being  the  language  of  London  and  of  the  two  great 
universities,  soon  came  to  be  adopted  as  the  standard 
speech.  Chaucer,  the  greatest  poet  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  wrote  his  poetry  in  this  dialect;  and  his  great 
contemporary,  Wy cliff e,  too,  used  it  in  his  English 
translations  of  the  Bible.  The  immense  popularity  of 
their  writings  and  the  introduction  of  the  printing  press 
in  the  following  century  made  the  Midland  dialect  the 
undisputed  national  tongue  of  England. 

The  lesson  taught  by  such  recent  history  seems  to 
have  been  forgotten  by  those  who  now  look  upon  the 
Chinese  literary  revolution  with  disfavour  and  sus- 
picion. But  a little  unbiased  reflection  and  historical 
study  will  readily  lead  us  to  the  conclusion  that  what 
is  now  called  the  literary  revolution  is  no  more  than 
a culminating  stage  in  a long  process  of  historical 
evolution. 

The  story  is  indeed  a long  one,  but  the  salient  facts 
are  simple.  As  early  as  the  second  century  b.c.,  the 
classical  language  had  already  become  unintelligible  to 
the  people.  Thus  about  the  year  120  b.c.,  in  a memorial 


50  China  To-Day 

to  the  emperor,  Premier  Kung-sun  Hung  said:  “The 
imperial  edicts  and  laws  that  have  been  proclaimed,  . . . 
while  they  are  most  elegantly  worded  and  containing 
benevolent  instructions,  are  not  generally  understood  by 
the  public  officers  who  are  too  inadequately  educated 
to  explain  these  to  the  people.”  In  order  to  meet  this 
most  serious  difficulty  the  government  hit  upon  a system 
under  which  public  offices  were  conferred  upon  those 
who  had  studied  the  classic  writings.  This  system, 
which  was  later  perfected  into  the  great  system  of 
literary  examinations,  has  succeeded  in  maintaining 
to  this  day  the  supremacy  of  the  classical  language, 
which  had  become  unintelligible  to  the  public  officers 
over  two  thousand  years  ago. 

But  no  governmental  power,  however  great,  can 
prevent  language  from  undergoing  the  inevitable  pro- 
cesses of  phonetical  change  and  grammatical  levelling 
gradually  and  unconsciously  brought  about  by  the 
common  sense  of  the  people.  In  China,  these  processes 
by  a stroke  of  good  fortune  have  been  allowed  to  go 
on  unimpeded  and  uninterfered  with  by  the  literary 
class  which  was  busily  occupied  with  the  task  of  mas- 
tering the  subtleties  of  the  dead  classical  language. 
For  a long  period  of  over  twenty  centuries,  the  dialects 
have  been  permitted  to  keep  on  changing  and  modifying 
until  some  of  the  dialects  have  become  as  distinct  from 
the  classical  language  as  any  two  cognate  languages 
can  possibly  be  different  from  each  other.  As  in  the 
case  of  the  English  dialects,  the  dialects  of  Northern 
China,  owing  to  the  influence  of  numerous  barbarian 
conquests  and  settlements,  have  undergone  the  most 
radical  changes  both  in  pronunciation  and  intonation 
and  in  grammar.  It  is  the  Northern  and  Middle  dia- 
lects, generally  classed  as  the  “Mandarin  dialects,” 


The  Literary  Revolution  in  China  51 

which  now  form  the  kuo  yu,  or  national  language  of 
China.  , 

While  conservative  Chinese  scholars  still  look  down 
upon  the  living  spoken  language  as  the  degraded  jargon 
of  the  vulgar  and  the  illiterate,  the  student  of  compara- 
tive languages  can  easily  convince  himself  that  the 
living  national  tongue  is  the  culmination  of  over  twenty 
centuries’  linguistic  revision  and  reform,  and  is  con- 
sequently by  far  superior  to  the  long  dead  classical 
language.  I have  elsewhere  tried  to  prove  this  point 
by  numerous  illustrations,1  but  the  limitations  of  this 
paper  do  not  allow  me  to  take  up  a subject  of  such 
technical  nature.  So  I shall  confine  myself  to  the 
development  of  literature  in  the  spoken  language. 

The  first  barbarisation  of  Northern  China,  which 
took  place  during  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries 
a.d.,  and  its  concomitant  event  of  the  shift  of  the  centre 
of  Chinese  civilisation  to  Southern  China — these  two 
factors  combined  to  produce  a large  number  of  popular 
poems  both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South.  The  new 
races  in  the  North  made  their  heroic  and  warlike  songs, 
but  the  popular  literature  of  the  southern  peoples  chiefly 
consisted  in  little  lyrics  of  love.  The  unmistakable 
beauty  and  simplicity  of  these  songs  of  the  people 
gradually  came  to  be  appreciated  by  the  literary  men 
of  the  time  and  they  soon  became  models  of  poetic 
composition  under  the  general  name  of  Ku  yo  fu,  or 
Old  Songs.  In  this  way  the  literature  of  the  literati 
was  influenced  by  the  poetry  of  the  people,  and  the 
greatness  of  the  poetry  of  the  Tang  dynasty  (620-900) 
owes  much  to  the  influence  of  the  popular  songs  of  the 
pre-Tang  period.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  best  poems 

1 Hu  Shih,  Selected  Writings,  vol.  III.,  pp.  1-80.  Also  Hu  Shih, 
The  National  Language  of  China,  in  a volume  to  be  published 
by  the  American  University  Club  of  Shanghai. 


52  China  To-Day 

of  Tang  are  written  either  in  the  popular  tongue  or 
in  a style  nearest  to  it.  It  is  said  of  Po  Chu-I,  the 
greatest  poet  of  the  Mid-Tang  period,  that  his  poems 
were  often  shown  to  an  old  woman,  whose  inability  to 
understand  a certain  poem  would  cause  its  rejection 
or  revision. 

It  was  also  under  the  Tang  dynasty  that  vulgate 
prose  first  arose.  The  great  teachers  of  the  Oman 
or  Zen  School  of  Buddhism  first  used  it  in  preaching 
and  recording  sayings  and  discourses.  The  style  proved 
to  be  so  effective  in  philosophical  writings  that  the 
Neo-Con  fucian  philosophers  of  Sung  and  later 
dynasties  had  to  adopt  it  in  most  of  their  philosophical 
discussions. 

Meanwhile  Northern  China  was  undergoing  a second 
period  of  barbarization  which  began  in  the  tenth  cen- 
tury and  lasted  until  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth. 
The  Kitan  Tartars  were  conquered  by  the  Luchen 
Tartars,  who  in  turn  were  conquered  by  the  Mongols. 
The  latter  people  in  the  year  1239  succeeded  in  sub- 
jugating the  whole  of  China.  While  these  barbarian 
conquests  were  politically  and  socially  disastrous  to 
the  Chinese  people,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  they  have 
had  immense  beneficial  effects  upon  the  language  and 
literature  of  the  people.  That  the  language  was  bar- 
barized can  be  easily  seen  in  the  numerous  edicts  and 
other  public  documents  of  the  Mongol  dynasty,  which 
have  been  preserved  to  us  and  which  were  all  written 
in  terribly  barbarized  Chinese,  in  a style  which  is 
apparently  Mongol  syntax  clothed  in  Chinese  characters. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  barbarian  occupation 
that  the  great  dramas  were  produced.  The  literary 
examinations  were  suspended  for  nearly  eighty  years 
(1237-1313);  the  authority  of  the  classical  language 


The  Literary  Revolution  in  China  53 

and  literature  was  swept  away.  Even  the  greatest 
geniuses  now  condescended  to  write  plays  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  the  people.  And  some  of  the  Yuan  dramas 
were  written  by  the  members  of  the  lowest  stratum 
of  society.  This  accounts  for  the  simplicity  in  the 
content  and  style  of  the  dramas  of  that  period. 

And  then  the  necessity  of  educating  the  barbarian 
and  barbarized  population  in  the  great  Chinese  tradi- 
tion gave  rise  to  a class  of  prose  literature  known  as 
the  yen  yi,  or  popular  histories.  These  narratives  soon 
developed  into  historical  novels  and  then  into  novels  of 
all  kinds.  For  centuries  it  has  been  thought  that  the 
several  great  novels  of  unknown  authorship  were 
written  under  the  Mongol  dynasty,  but  my  own  re- 
searches have  convinced  me  that  the  novel  only  reached 
its  infantile  stage  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  cen- 
turies and  that  such  novels  as  San  Kuo  Chih,  Shai  Hu 
Chuan,  and  Hsi  You  Chi  had  only  crude  origins  in  the 
Mongol  period  and  went  through  a series  of  collective 
and  individual  revisions  until  they  appeared  in  their 
finished  form  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

With  the  exit  of  the  Mongol  conquerors  and  with 
the  institution  of  a new  and  more  rigid  system  of 
literary  examinations  under  the  Ming  dynasty  (1368- 
1644),  the  authority  of  the  classical  tradition  was 
gradually  restored.  The  literati  took  hold  of  the  dramas 
and  made  them  classical  and  therefore  unintelligible 
to  the  mass  of  the  people.  Poetry  and  prose  both  tended 
to  a classical  revival.  The  cries  of  the  day  were, 
“Back  to  Tang  and  Sung,”  and  “Back  to  the  Pre-Tang 
periods.”  But  the  novel  alone  remained  uncontaminated 
by  the  reactionary  influences  and  continued  to  develop 
itself.  While  official  recognition  and  literary  honours 
continued  to  be  eagerly  coveted  by  the  literary  class. 


54  China  To-Day 

the  immense  popularity  of  the  novels  was  also  a 
sufficiently  powerful  inducement  to  tempt  gifted  authors 
to  undertake  this  despised  branch  of  literature.  It  is 
significant  to  note  that  practically  all  the  novels  written 
under  the  Ming  dynasty  were  anonymous  and  that  it 
was  not  until  the  Manchu  dynasty  that  authors  allowed 
real  names  to  be  attached  to  novels. 

The  last  four  centuries  have  been  very  productive  in 
novels.  Of  the  hundreds  of  novels  that  have  been 
preserved  and  are  being  reprinted  in  numberless  cheap 
editions,  many  are  of  little  or  no  literary  value.  But 
the  best  of  them,  such  as  the  Shui  Hu  Chuan,  Hsi  You 
Chi,  Ju  Lin  Wai  Shi  ( The  Literati ),  Hung  Lou  Mung 
( Dream  of  the  Red  Chamber),  and  a few  others,  can 
certainly  be  ranked  among  the  world’s  greatest  master- 
pieces. Near  the  end  of  the  Manchu  dynasty,  a number 
of  social  novels  were  produced,  modelled  more  or  less 
after  the  fashion  of  The  Literati,  a realistic  and  satirical 
novel  written  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Aside  from  the  effects  of  their  outspoken  attacks  on 
Chinese  officialdom,  these  modern  novels  are  significant 
in  the  fact  that,  while  they  were  all  written  in  the 
Mandarin  dialect,  their  authors  were  all  southerners  to 
whom  the  northern  and  middle  dialects  were  not  at  all 
native.  This  fact  shows  the  tremendous  educative 
effects  of  the  great  novels  which  have  in  the  course  of  a 
few  centuries  succeeded  in  standardising  the  national 
language  and  have  been  its  greatest  teachers  and 
propagandists. 

From  the  above  account,  it  is  clear  that  spoken 
Chinese  as  represented  by  the  Mandarin  dialects  is 
well  qualified  to  become  the  national  language  of  China. 
In  the  first  place,  it  is  the  most  widely  spoken  language 
in  the  country.  In  the  second  place,  it  has  produced  a 


The  Literary  Revolution  in  China  55 

vast  amount  of  literature,  a literature  more  extensive 
and  varied  than  any  modern  European  language  ever 
possessed  at  the  time  of  its  establishment  as  a national 
language.  It  seems  incredible  that  a language  of  such 
vitality  and  currency  should  have  to  wait  so  long 
before  it  was  ever  thought  of  as  a possible  substitute 
for  the  long  dead  classical  language.  But  the  explana- 
tion is  really  simple.  The  authority  of  the  classical 
language  and  literature  has  been  truly  too  great  to  be 
easily  overcome.  This  authority  became  truly  formid- 
able when  it  was  enforced  by  the  power  of  a long  united 
empire  and  supported  by  a fairly  extensive  system  of 
education,  the  sole  object  of  which  has  been  to  win 
official  honour  and  recognition  on  the  strength  of  the 
ability  to  read  and  write  in  the  classical  language. 

Moreover,  there  was  lacking  in  the  history  of  spoken 
Chinese  one  important  factor  without  which  the  author- 
ity of  the  classical  language  could  never  be  destroyed. 
That  important  factor  is  a conscious  and  frank  recog- 
nition of  the  fact  that  the  classical  language  is  a dead 
language  and  as  such  is  disqualified  to  continue  as  the 
national  language  of  a modern  nation.  Dante  not  only 
wrote  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  but  also  defended  it  in  his 
treatise  De  vulgari  eloquentia.  Boccaccio,  too,  was  a 
conscious  defender  of  the  language  he  employed  as 
literary  medium.  In  France,  the  Pleiade  were  also  con- 
scious advocates  of  the  French  language;  indeed,  Du 
Bellay,  one  of  the  poets  who  formed  the  Pleiade,  wrote 
La  defense  et  illustration  de  la  langue  frangaise,  in 
which  he  asserted  the  right  of  the  French  language  to 
stand  as  a medium  of  poetic  expression.  It  is  this 
element  of  conscious  advocacy  that  was  lacking  in  the, 
case  of  spoken  Chinese.  There  were  large  numbers  of 
writers  who  were  in  one  way  or  another  attracted 


56  China  To-Day 

by  the  vulgar  tongue  and  wrote  in  it.  There  were 
none,  however,  who  openly  questioned  the  supreme 
authority  of  the  classical  language  or  who  consciously 
defended  the  living  tongue  as  the  only  legitimate 
medium  of  literary  composition.  And  it  is  this  absence 
of  an  articulate  movement  which  has  made  it  possible 
for  the  dead  language  to  reign  supreme  two  thousand 
years  after  its  death. 

What  the  recent  literary  revolution  did  was  to  supply 
this  very  factor  which  was  lacking  in  the  long  history 
of  the  living  tongue,  and  to  openly  declare  that  the 
classical  language  has  been  long  dead  and  that  the 
pei  hua  which  has  been  the  literary  medium  for  many 
centuries,  is  and  will  be  the  only  proper  and  effective 
means  of  literary  expression  in  verse  as  well  as  in  prose. 
“No  dead  language  can  produce  a living  literature,” 
was  the  war  cry  of  the  literary  revolution.  Its  con- 
structive policy  is  summed  up  in  the  motto,  “Produce 
literature  in  the  national  language,  and  you  shall  have 
a national  language  of  literary  worth.”  2 In  1916,  the 
present  writer  made  a resolution  never  to  write  any 
poetry  except  in  the  spoken  language.  The  first  public 
declaration  of  the  revolution  was  published  on  the  first 
day  of  the  year  1917.  The  controversy  went  on  for 
two  years;  after  that,  opposition  gradually  died  down. 
Since  the  summer  of  1919,  the  pei  hua  has  spread  far 
and  wide.  In  1920,  the  Ministry  of  Education  issued 
an  order  to  the  effect  that,  beginning  with  the  fall 
opening  of  that  year,  the  national  language  should  be 
taught  in  the  first  two  grades  of  the  primary  school. 
In  the  course  of  a few  years,  all  the  grades  in  the 
primary  schools  will  be  using  the  living  tongue  in  the 

2 For  the  war  literature  of  the  literary  revolution,  see  Hu  Shih, 
Selected  Writings,  vol.  I.,  pp.  1-320. 


The  Literary  Revolution  in  China  57 

place  of  the  classical.  This  change  has  of  necessity 
affected  the  middle  and  normal  schools  where  the 
primary  teachers  are  trained,  and  these  higher  schools 
are  anticipating  the  coming  change  by  voluntarily 
adopting  texts  in  the  vulgate.  Most  of  the  recent 
publications  have  been  in  the  vulgate.  The  newspapers 
and  periodicals  have  in  most  cases  ceased  to  publish 
poems  in  the  classical  language,  and  “new  poems”  in 
spoken  Chinese  are  taking  their  places.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  controversial  period  is  now  almost  over, 
and  the  era  of  constructive  and  creative  work  is 
before  us. 

The  moral  of  this  easy  success  of  the  literary  revo- 
lution is  obvious.  It  was  not  the  work  of  any  individual 
or  individuals  that  has  brought  about  its  success.  The 
time  has  long  been  ripe  for  this  revolution;  two 
thousand  years  of  collective  effort  in  linguistic  revision 
and  ten  centuries  of  literary  activity  in  the  living  tongue 
— these  are  the  real  factors  which  have  made  such  a 
rapid  success  possible.  The  common  sense  of  our 
people  has  for  twenty  centuries  been  unconsciously  but 
steadily  and  incessantly  preparing  for  this  day.  The 
literary  revolution  of  the  last  five  years  is  no  more 
than  a culmination  of  twenty  centuries’  historical 
evolution.  All  unconscious  processes  of  natural 
evolution  are  of  necessity  very  slow  and  wasteful. 
Once  these  processes  are  made  conscious  and  articulate, 
intelligent  control  and  experimentation  become  possible, 
the  work  of  many  centuries  may  be  telescoped  into  a 
few  years,  and  an  easy  success  befall  those  who  are  in 
reality,  to  use  a classical  phrase,  “getting  the  credit 
which  properly  belongs  to  Nature.” 


February,  1922. 


IV 


The  Confucian  God-Idea  1 

By  Y.  Y.  Tsu 

St.  John's  University,  Shanghai 

THE  researches  of  Legge,  De  Groot,  Ross,  and 
others  have  made  clear  to  us  the  main  features 
of  the  ancient  faith  of  China,  as  reflected  in  the  old 
classical  literature,  especially  in  the  Books  of  History 
and  Poetry,  the  Shu-king  and  the  Shih-king.  De 
Groot’s  theory  is  that  the  core  of  Chinese  religion, 
past  as  well  as  present,  is  animism.  But  other  scholars, 
like  Legge  and  Ross,  do  not  share  his  view.  It  is  true, 
they  say,  that  spirits  of  the  hills,  rivers,  and  valleys 
and  their  worship  are  recorded  in  the  Classics,  but  the 
first  place  in  thought  and  in  worship  in  ancient  times 
was  always  given  to  T’ien  or  Shangti  (Heaven  or 
“Lord  on  High”).  T’ien  or  Shangti  was  the  supreme 
power  or  being  in  the  universe,  and  all  others,  man  or 
spirit,  were  subordinate  to  Him.  And  so  they  conclude 
that  the  ancient  religion  of  China  was  monotheism.  In 
the  words  of  Legge,  “five  thousand  years  ago  the 
Chinese  were  monotheists — not  henotheists,  but  mono- 
theists, and  this  monotheism  was  in  danger  of  being 
corrupted,  we  have  seen,  by  a nature  worship  on  the 

1 Originally  published  in  Christian  China. 

58 


The  Confucian  God-Idea  59 

one  hand,  and  by  a system  of  superstitious  divination 
on  the  other.”  2 

Whether  the  ancient  religion  was  pure  monotheism 
or  not,  some  kind  of  unity  of  religious  thought  had 
already  been  achieved,  the  existence  of  a supreme  being 
or  power  ruling  over  kingdoms  and  men  was 
acknowledged.  But  what  was  the  supreme  being  or 
power  whose  existence  men  acknowledged?  Was  it 
impersonal  or  personal,  a moral  principle  or  a righteous 
God  ? Legge  thinks  that  Tien  or  SJmngti  is  equivalent 
to  the  Christian  term,  God,  or,  at  least,  the  Jewish  term, 
Jahve.  He  says,  “T’ien  has  had  much  of  the  force  of 
the  name  Jahve,  as  explained  by  God  Himself  to  Moses ; 
Ti  ( Shangti ) has  presented  that  absolute  deity  in  the 
relation  to  men  of  their  lord  and  governor.  Ti  was  to 
the  Chinese  fathers,  I believe,  exactly  what  God  was 
to  our  fathers,  whenever  they  took  the  great  name  on 
their  lips.”  s If  the  interpretation  is  correct,  then  we 
may  rejoice  with  Soothill  “that  great  preparation  has 
been  made  in  China  for  Christian  enlightenment  in 
the  recognition  of  a Power  above,  great,  beneficent, 
and  just,  who  rewards  virtue  and  punishes  vice,  and 
who  can  be  approached  in  prayer.”  4 

A somewhat  different  attitude  is  taken  by  Suzuki  in 
his  History  of  Chinese  Philosophy . He  says,  “It  may 
not  be  altogether  proper  to  consider  Shang  Ti  as  a 
being  residing  in  heaven  (t’ien).  Though  it  is  certain 
that  he  was  not  merely  a moral  power  nor  the  personi- 
fication of  Heaven  as  some  Christian  missionary 
scholars  of  Chinese  religion  are  inclined  to  believe, 
he  was  not  a person  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word. 
But  he  had  something  of  personality  in  him  and  could 

1 Legge,  Religions  of  China,  1880,  p.  16. 

3 Ibid,  p.  io. 

4 Soothill,  Three  Religions  of  China,  1913,  p.  144. 


6o 


China  To-Day 

properly  be  called  “he”  instead  of  “it.”  There  is 
no  doubt,  however,  that  the  early  Chinese  did  not 
conceive  their  Shang  Ti  as  did  the  Jews  their  Yahveh. 
When  the  Chinese  spoke  of  Shang  Ti,  they  had  in 
their  minds  something  of  an  august,  supreme  being  in 
Heaven  above,  who  was  the  arbiter  of  human  destiny, 
though  not  their  creator.  He  did  not,  exactly  speaking, 
reside  in  Heaven,  but  Heaven  was  his  material  or 
objective  expression..  Figuratively  speaking,  Heaven 
was  Shang  Ti,  and  Shang  Ti  was  Heaven.”  5 

In  other  words,  we  have  certain  terms  and  expres- 
sions, which  have  been  handed  down  from  the  remote 
past,  and  which  are  current  more  or  less  at  the  present 
time,  but  their  exact  meaning,  as  far  as  the  ancients 
were  concerned,  is  a matter  of  uncertainty,  depending 
upon  our  ways  of  interpretation.  In  trying  to  interpret 
passages  in  the  ancient  classics,  we  have  to  bear  in  mind 
the  following  points : First,  our  personal  beliefs  are  apt 
to  colour  our  interpretation.  There  is  always  a great 
temptation  for  us  to  read  into  the  passages  the  meaning 
that  is  most  congenial  to  us.  In  religious  matters, 
because  of  our  great  interest,  this  temptation  is 
especially  strong.  We  are  inclined  to  idealise  the 
ancient  religion  of  China,  in  our  effort  to  discover  the 
so-called  “preparation”  in  China  for  the  Christian 
religion. 

Secondly,  in  dealing  with  the  religious  ideas  of  the 
ancient  Classics,  we  must  remember  that  we  are  dealing 
with  a state  religion,  the  religion  of  the  imperial  court, 
and  not  the  religion  of  the  common  people.  The  Court, 
for  reasons  of  its  own,  might  uphold  an  exalted  mono- 
theism, while  the  people  might  all  the  time,  as  De  Groot 
contends,  be  sunk  in  the  grossest  animism. 

6 Suzuki,  History  of  Chinese  Philosophy,  1914,  p.  174- 


The  Confucian  God-Idea 


6l 


Thirdly,  literary  expressions  should  not  be  received 
without  critical  estimation  of  their  real  value  as  dis- 
tinguished from  their  face  value.  The  ideals  we 
proclaim  in  public  are  as  a rule  higher  than  those  we 
live  by  in  private.  We  are  used  to  certain  high- 
sounding  ethical  statements  in  governmental  proclama- 
tions and  professions  and  we  know  they  are  merely 
formal  and  conventional  expressions,  with  little  reality 
behind  them.  Similarly,  we  should  accept  the  lofty 
religious  expressions  in  the  Classics  with  reserve.  They 
might  be  merely  a part  of  the  impressive  paraphernalia 
of  state  rule,  based  upon  the  Divine  Right  theory.  In 
this  connection  we  recall  Legge’s  attempt  to  prove  the 
exalted  faith  of  the  nation  by  the  language  of  the 
hymns  and  prayers  used  by  the  Ming  emperors  at  the 
Worship  of  Heaven.6  Those  hymns  and  prayers  were 
wonderful,  breathing  the  spirituality  of  the  psalms  of 
David  and  Solomon,  but  could  we  be  sure  that  they 
were  more  than  beautiful  poetic  forms  composed  for 
specific  occasions  and  read,  perhaps,  by  the  emperors, 
with  no  more  comprehension  than  a child  has  when 
reciting  the  “Great  Learning,”  or  the  Analects  of 
Confucius? 

Finally,  the  best  interpretation  is  that  afforded  by 
historical  development.  By  the  fruits  we  shall  know 
of  the  nature  of  the  tree.  To  appreciate  the  quality 
of  the  ancient  religion,  we  should  not  only  study  the 
literary  remains  of  the  past,  but  also  examine  the 
religious  conceptions  of  the  living  who  trace  their 
spiritual  ancestry  to  the  ancient  source.  We  should 
therefore  find  out  the  religious  conceptions  of  the 
Confucianist  scholar  of  to-day.  He  may  have  been 

aLegge,  The  Notions  of  the  Chinese  Concerning  God  and 
Spirits,  1852,  p.  23ft. 


62  China  To-Day 

influenced  in  his  thinking  by  Buddhist  and  Taoist 
doctrines,  and  in  recent  years  by  Western  sciences  and 
philosophies,  but  in  the  main  he  is  the  faithful  product 
of  that  culture,  recorded  in  the  Classics,  standardised  by 
Confucius  and  his  followers,  and  broadly  known  as 
Confucianism. 

Let  us  proceed  in  our  discussion  in  the  following 
order:  i.  The  ancient  faith.  2.  The  religious  ideas  of 
Confucius.  3.  The  religious  ideas  of  Chutze,  the 
foremost  expositor  of  Confucianism,  a.d.  11301201. 
4.  The  religious  ideas  of  the  present-day  scholars. 

1.  The  ancient  fcdth.  The  ideas  about  God,  that  is 
about  Shangti  or  T’ien,  in  the  Books  of  History  and 
Poetry,  are  summarised  by  Soothill  as  follows:  “He 
hears  and  sees;  He  enjoys  offerings;  He  has  a heart, 
or  mind ; He  is  aided  by  men,  and  deputes  His  work, 
especially  to  kings  and  their  ministers;  He  can  be 
honoured  and  served;  He  is  awe-inspiring,  of  dread 
majesty,  and  to  be  feared;  He  confers  on  men  their 
moral  sense,  and  makes  retention  of  this  favour 
dependent  on  moral  character ; His  will  is  glorious,  may 
be  known,  and  must  be  complied  with ; a virtuous  king 
is  after  His  own  heart,  but  He  will  have  no  regard 
to  the  ill-doer;  with  such  a one  He  is  angry;  the 
virtuous  king  He  will  reward  with  ease  and  dignity; 
the  appointment  to  kingly  office  is  in  His  hands,  such 
appointment  is  contingent,  and  favour  may  be  lost;  He 
protects,  but  may  withdraw  His  protection ; He  warns, 
corrects,  and  punishes  the  evil  king,  even  afflicts,  ruins, 
and  destroys  him,  and  of  this  instances  are  clearly 
given.” 

“T’ien  gives  birth  to  the  people;  It  gives  valour 
and  wisdom  to  princes;  It  gives  blessings  to  the  good 
and  woes  to  the  evil;  It  ordains  the  social  order,  the 


The  Confucian  God-Idea  63 

religious  and  social  ceremonies,  and  human  virtues; 
It  sends  down  rain;  It  is  gracious  to  men  and  helps 
them;  Its  will  is  unerring;  It  does  not  shorten  men’s 
lives,  they  do  that  themselves;  It  is  not  bound  to 
individuals  by  ties  of  biased  human  affections ; It  com- 
mands men  to  rectify  their  character;  It  gives  man  his 
nature,  compassionates  him,  and  grants  his  desires; 
It  is  only  moved  by  virtue,  but  men  may  cry  and  weep 
and  pray  to  It,  for  It  will  hear.”  7 

In  discussing  the  Chinese  ideas  about  God,  Suzuki 
points  out  the  interesting  fact  that  He  was  never 
conceived  of  as  having  close  personal  relationship  with 
human  beings,  or  as  having  manifested  Himself  to 
them  in  any  direct  way  through  the  senses.  “He  was 
a quiet,  deliberate,  ethical  power  that  discharged  or 
exercised  his  function  rather  impassively.  He  never 
showed  himself  in  the  midst  of  fires,  thunders,  or 
lightnings  to  vent  his  personal  ire  upon  the  creatures 
below.  The  Chinese  never  caught  a glimpse  of  their 
God.  He  was  hidden  far  up  in  the  azure  skies,  he  could 
not  be  brought  into  immediate  personal  touch  with 
mortals.”  8 God  was  conceived  of  pre-eminently  as  the 
moral  authority  of  the  universe,  and  in  this  aspect  He 
was  supreme  and  His  will  absolute.  His  dealings  with 
men  had  to  do  primarily  with  moral  conduct.  A mor- 
ally good  life  was  the  only  way  to  get  His  favour.  In 
other  words,  the  strongly  practical  Chinese  mind  did  not 
wraste  itself  in  vain  imagination  but  made  full  use  of 
its  religion  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  common-day 
life.  And  so,  while  weak  in  spiritual  fervour,  the 
ancient  faith  was  strong  in  ethical  application.  This 
characteristic,  rather  than  decreasing  as  time  went  on, 

7 Soothill,  p.  143-4. 

8 Suzuki,  p.  129. 


64  China  To-Day 

increased  to  such  proportions  that  finally  ethics  over*- 
shadowed  religion,  and  spiritual  interests  were  lost  sight 
of  through  concentration  of  attention  to  mundane 
affairs. 

2.  The  religious  ideas  of  Confucius.  Confucius  was 
pre-eminently  a moralist.  His  interests  were  this- 
worldly.  He  had  no  taste  for  metaphysical  speculation 
or  religious  contemplation.  Excepting  the  one  refer- 
ence to  his  desire  for  the  study  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
Book  of  Changes,  he  consistently  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  and  solution  of  the  practical  problems  of 
human  relationships,  and  the  teaching  of  right  conduct. 
He  showed  no  curiosity  for  the  mysterious  and  un- 
known, and  discouraged  his  disciples  in  their  efforts  to 
understand  those  things.  His  own  words  are  well 
known.9 

“Not  knowing  how  to  serve  men,  how  could  we 
serve  spirits?” 

“Honour  the  gods,  but  leave  them  alone.” 

“How  could  we  know  about  death,  when  we  have 
not  understood  life?” 

“Sacrifice  to  the  spirits,  as  if  they  were  here.” 

“Having  offended  Heaven,  it  is  vain  to  pray  for 
forgiveness.” 

“If  I say  the  dead  have  consciousness,  I am  afraid 
the  filial  sons  will  neglect  the  living  and  serve  the 
dead ; but  if  I say  the  dead  have  no  consciousness, 
I am  afraid  the  unfilial  sons  will  give  up  burying 
their  dead  and  sacrificing  to  them.  Whether  the 
dead  have  consciousness  or  not,  we  shall  know  it 
when  we  ourselves  die.  It  is  not  too  late.” 

These  utterances,  given  in  reply  to  the  questions 
of  the  disciples  concerning  the  occult,  mysterious  death, 

8 Confucius’  Sayings  in  Chinese. 


The  Confucian  God-Idea  65 

ghosts,  and  the  spiritual  world,  reveal  to  us  the  attitude 
of  the  Sage,  in  the  public  role  of  the  Teacher.  In  his 
private  life,  he  showed  strong  faith  in  the  Providence 
of  Heaven  as  giving  him  his  allotted  life  and  work  on 
earth,  and  protecting  him  against  the  evil  designs  of 
his  enemies.  On  two  occasions,  he  used  the  highly 
religious  words,  “Heaven  has  entrusted  me  with  a 
mission,  what  can  my  enemies  do  to  my  life  ?”  10 
Furthermore,  sometimes  in  his  quiet  hours,  he  did 
allow  questionings  about  the  “other  world”  to  trouble 
hi9  mind.  “How  surpassing  great  are  the  powers  of 
the  spirits.  Looking,  we  cannot  see  them;  listening, 
we  cannot  hear  them ; embodying  themselves  in  things, 
they  cannot  be  neglected.  They  make  all  men  bathe, 
fast,  put  on  sacrificial  apparel  and  worship  them. 
Vague  and  yet  pervading,  they  seem  to  be  above  and 
around  us.”  10  But  whatever  his  private  religious 
views,  Confucius  in  his  public  life  as  Teacher  was  an 
agnostic  and  positivist. 

In  those  days  there  were  other  schools  of  thought 
than  that  represented  by  Confucius.  For  example, 
Laotze  and  his  followers  were  building  up  a philos- 
ophy, mystical,  spiritual,  and  idealistic,  defiantly 
antagonistic  to  the  utilitarian  and  materialistic  system 
of  Confucius.  Then  there  was  Muh-tze,  whose  essays 
on  Universal  Love,  the  Existence  of  God  and  His 
attributes  contain  many  conceptions  which  are  strikingly 
similar  to  Christian  teaching.11  But  through  his 
strong  personality,  his  conservatism,  and  his  assumption 
of  the  role  of  the  champion  of  ancient  culture,  Con- 
fucius was  able  to  win  Chinese  thought  to  his  standard 

16  Confucius’  Sayings  in  Chinese. 

11  Muh-tze’s  essays  “Universal  Love,”  “Against  War,”  “Will 
of  Heaven,”  “Knowledge  of  Spiritual  Beings,”  etc. 


66  China  To-Day 

and  to  make  his  school  the  orthodox,  and  the  rival 
schools  heretical.  Henceforth  Confucianism  reigned 
supreme.  As  far  as  the  religious  development  of  the 
nation  was  concerned,  this  victory  of  Confucianism 
was  a decided  set-back,  for  the  spirit  of  Confucianism, 
after  its  Founder,  was  sceptical  and  unfavourable  to 
religious  growth.  Although  it  professed  to  preserve 
the  ancient  culture,  and  inherited  the  Classics  as  sacred 
literature,  Confucianism  contributed  nothing  to  the 
enrichment  of  religious  thought,  the  germs  of  which 
were  embedded  in  that  literature.  The  God-idea  of  the 
Classics  instead  of  being  clarified,  grew  dim  and  vague 
in  the  atmosphere  of  Confucianism,  and  finally,  in  the 
ambiguous  term,  T’ien,  it  became  no  more  than  an 
impersonal  moral  principle  or1  law  of  the  universe. 

3.  The  religious  ideas  of  Chutze.  Chutze  was  the 
greatest  expositor  of  Confucianism  and  commentator 
of  the  Classics.  He  lived  in  the  Sung  Dynasty,  known 
as  the  Period  of  Confucian  Renaissance,  and  was  the 
chief  exponent  of  the  so-called  “modern  Confucianism” 
which  has  come  down  to  our  day.  The  illustrious 
Emperor  K’ang-hsi,  admiring  Chutze  as  the  true  teacher 
of  Confucian  orthodoxy,  appointed  a commission  of 
fifteen  learned  scholars  to  collect  and  publish  all  his 
known  works.  The  result  was  the  Complete  Works  of 
Chutze , in  sixty-six  volumes.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
reproduce  all  that  Chutze  said  on  religious  matters. 
They  are  found  especially  in  Volumes  XLIX.  and  LI. 

In  his  cosmogony,  there  was  no  place  for  a Creator. 
Li  and  Chi  or  Law  and  Air,  or,  in  the  language  of 
Physics,  Matter  and  Force,  were  the  eternal  dualism 
sufficient  to  explain  the  universe  and  all  things  therein, 
including  life  and  mind.12  The  universe  was,  to  borrow 

“Quotations  from  Chutze  regarding  Creation. 


The  Confucian  God-Idea  67 

Spencer’s  phrase,  a moving  equilibrium,  and  subject  to 
successive  evolution  and  dissolution.  This  theory  of 
evolution  and  dissolution  is  almost  Spencerian,  but 
Chutze  gave  as  reason  for  the  universe  returning  to 
chaos  or  dissolution  the  climax  of  human  wickedness. 
He  did  not  commit  himself  to  any  position  affirmative 
or  negative,  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  God.  But 
once,  when  asked  point-blank  whether  the  Classics 
meant  an  actual  Supreme  Being  in  Heaven,  in  such 
sentences  as  “Shangti  sends  down  the  virtuous  nature 
upon  the  people,”  “Heaven  protects  the  people  and 
appoints  princes,”  “Heaven  generates  things,  and  in- 
creases their  powers  according  to  their  capacity;  upon 
the  good  it  sends  down  innumerable  felicities,  and  on 
the  evil  innumerable  calamities,”  etc.,  or  merely  em- 
ployed the  expressions  as  figures  of  speech  to  mean 
that  owing  to  Law  things  were  so,  Chutze  had  to 
answer  one  way  or  the  other,  and  his  answer  was, 
“Such  statements  have  but  one  interpretation:  it  is 
merely  that  Law  is  so.  The  revolving  Air,  from  the 
beginning,  has  experienced  fullness  after  decline  and 
decline  after  fullness,  ever  thus  revolving  in  a circle.” 
Chutze’s  theory  of  the  creation  and  fate  of  the  universe 
is  the  typical  Confucian  theory  of  to-day.  In  its  idea 
of  successive  worlds,  of  repeated  creation  and  chaos, 
it  reflects  Buddhist  influence,  but  the  theory  of  dual 
forces,  the  positive  and  negative,  was  derived  from  the 
Book  of  Changes. 

In  regard  to  the  existence  of  spirits,  Chutze  took 
the  thoroughly  orthodox  attitude.  “Those  that  have 
neither  form  nor  shade  are  difficult  to  apprehend.  Do 
not  bother  about  them.  Devote  yourself  to  the  work 
of  daily  existence  which  calls  for  continual  exertion. 
The  Master  has  said,  “Not  knowing  how  to  serve  men, 


68  China  To-Day 

how  could  we  serve  spirits?”  “How  could  we  know 
about  death,  when  we  have  not  understood  life?” 
“He  has  said  all  there  is  to  say  about  the  matter.” 
“Whether  there  are  spiritual  beings  or  not,  it  is  not 
easy  to  tell  in  an  off-hand  way.  Even  if  I told  you, 
would  you  understand  and  believe?  You  should  try 
to  understand  first  the  natural  law ; then  this  question 
will  be  cleared  by  itself.  Someone  asked  the  Master 
about  them.  He  replied,  ‘Honour  the  spirits,  but  leave 
them  alone/  This  is  wisdom.  Let  us  try  to  understand 
■what  ought  to  be  understood,  but  leave  what  we  cannot 
understand  aside  for  the  present.  When  you  have 
understood  perfectly  the  principles  of  daily  life,  you 
will  naturally  perceive  the  law  about  spiritual  beings.”  13 
But  Chutze  did  try  to  explain  in  a materialistic  way 
the  existence  of  spirits,  especially  ancestral  spirits,  as 
the  Worship  of  Ancestors  called  for.14  At  death,  the 
breath  leaves  the  body  and  is  scattered  and  mingled 
with  the  universal  air.  But  it  is  capable  of  coming 
together  again  at  the  time  of  ancestral  worship,  on  the 
law  that  the  like  responds  to  the  like.  That  is,  the  de- 
scendants who  conduct  the  worship  have  the  same 
breath  in  them  that  once  animated  their  ancestors. 
When  the  descendants  in  sincerity  and  concentration  of 
spirit  beckon  the  ancestral  spirit  to  return  to  the  house, 
on  such  occasions  the  scattered  spirit  is  capable  of 
assembling  again  and  returning.  However,  this  “re- 
formation” of  the  scattered  spirit  into  a unity  is  only 
temporary,  being  held  together  only  by  the  intense 
concentration  of  the  worshipper’s  mind  during  the 
worship.  And  so  it  is  impossible  for  the  ancestral 
spirit  to  unite  and  reincarnate  itself  in  a body  and 

“Chutze  on  Spirits.  Vol.  LI. 

14  Chutze  on  ancestral  worship.  Vol.  I. 


The  Confucian  God-Idea  69 

thus  have  a second  life,  such  as  the  Buddhists  teach. 
Thus  Chutze  tried  to  explain  ancestor  worship.  His 
explanation  undoubtedly  is  the  one  accepted  and 
current  to-day. 

4.  The  religions  ideas  of  the  present-day  Confucian - 
ists.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  religious  ideas  of  the 
present-day  Confucianists,  we  recently  put  the  question, 
“What  does  T’ien  or  Shangti  mean  according  to  the 
Confucian  standard?”  to  a number  of  Chinese  scholars. 
The  following  replies  are  given  because  we  believe 
they  are  typical  of  the  present  attitude  of  the  educated 
people  of  the  country  outside  of  the  Christian  Church. 

One  scholar,  a man  of  both  Chinese  and  Western 
learning,  and  editor  of  an  important  educational 
magazine,  says:  “ T’ien  or  Shangti  in  Chinese  means 
exactly  the  same  as  God  in  English.  But  the  God-idea 
is  now  discredited  by  the  educated  people.  We  do  not 
believe  in  a personal  God  any  more.” 

This  man  has  spoken  for  a very  large  number  of 
people.  In  matters  of  religion  they  have  done  no 
independent  and  deep  thinking  for  themselves.  Their 
Confucian  education  has  pre-disposed  them  to  agnos- 
ticism and  unbelief.  They  accept  certain  views  of 
well-known  men,  like  Huxley  and  Spencer,  as  their 
own  and  consider  the  questions  therein  involved  thus 
closed  and  settled.  They  have  thrown  overboard  the 
idea  of  a personal  God  as  being  incompatible  with 
the  teachings  of  modern  science.  These  people  consider 
all  religions  as  superstition  and  so  cannot  see  any  good 
in  the  Christian  religion.  We  are  inclined  to  entertain 
the  hope  that  Christianity,  by  its  higher  conception  of 
God,  may  resuscitate  and  purify  the  Chinese  idea  of 
God  and  so  lead  men  back  to  Him.  But  very  often  the 
effect  of  the  contact  of  Christianity  with  the  native 


70  China  To-Day 

religion  is  to  produce  conflict,  and  in  their  defiance  of 
Christianity  the  native  scholars  would  even  throw  away 
their  old  faith  in  God. 

Another  scholar,  an  educationalist  widely  known 
among  Chinese  and  missionary  educational  circles, 
made  this  reply,  “Let  us  exclude  for  the  present  the 
beliefs  of  the  ignorant  classes  and  consider  the  religious 
attitude  of  the  educated  classes  only.  To  us,  the  T'ien 
or  Shcmgti  is  a collective  [noun?]  and  stands  for  all 
that  is  mysterious  and  unexplained.  The  ancients  were 
surrounded  by  mysteries  and  they  had  no  means  of 
understanding  them  and  so  invented  the  belief  in  the 
existence  of  a mysterious  being  which  they  called  T’ien 
or  Shangti.  The  idea  has  persisted  to  this  day  because 
it  has  been  found  a useful  means  of  social  control. 
The  ignorant  classes  have  no  self-control.  The  ‘per- 
sonal God’  idea  excites  fear  and  so  acts  as  restraint 
upon  their  conduct.  As  to  the  references  in  the  Classics 
about  the  justice  of  Heaven,  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments, that  is  only  a way  of  writing  or  speaking. 
There  is  in  Nature  the  law  of  cause  and  effect,  which 
works  positively,  and  so  there  is  no  necessity  for  postu- 
lating a Personal  Being  in  the  universe  dispensing 
rewards  and  punishments.” 

That  religion  is  useful  as  a police  force  in  dealing 
with  the  ignorant  classes  that  are  weak  in  self-control 
is  an  idea  that  one  meets  with  all  the  time.  The 
idea  is  generally  entertained  by  the  educated  classes 
with  a good  deal  of  self-complacency,  for  the  other 
side  of  the  statement  is  that  the  educated  person  who 
knows  his  duties  and  rights  has  no  need  for  religion. 
To  them  religion  is  something  that  will  be  outlived. 
When  science  gets  at  the  mysteries  that  still  remain 


The  Confucian  God-Idea  71 

and  throws  on  them  the  light  of  knowledge,  then 
religion  will  disappear. 

A third  scholar,  who  is  a professor  of  Chinese 
History  and  Philosophy  in  a university,  made  this 
reply,  “I  have  thought  a great  deal  on  the  subject. 
It  seems  to  me,  Christians  and  Confucianists  do  not 
differ  very  much  in  the  belief  in  the  existence  of 
Shen  Ling  (spiritual  and  divine  beings),  but  in  one 
thing  we  differ  fundamentally.  Christians  say,  ‘We. 
know  that  God  is  personal/  whereas  we  Confucianists 
say,  ‘We  do  not  know,  for  we  have  no  way  of  finding 
out  what  God  is  like/  ” 

This  agnosticism  is  characteristic.  God  exists  but 
He  remains  the  Unknowable.  This  is  the  Creed  of 
Confucianism.  The  first  part  makes  you  glow  with 
pleasant  anticipation  of  the  wonderful  vistas  of 
spiritual  insight  that  may  be  opened  to  you,  but  the 
second  part  slams  the  door  right  to  and  you  are 
face  to  face  with  a solid  stone  wall.  This  stone  wall 
of  agnosticism  is  more  difficult  to  surmount  than  open 
hostility,  because  the  agnostic  is  always  self-satisfied. 
Doubt  is  the  prerequisite  of  inquiry  and  knowledge, 
but  the  agnostic  excludes  doubt,  for  he  is  positive  of 
his  own  ignorance.  He  says  human  intellect  is  finite; 
it  is  vain  for  it  to  strive  to  know  the  Unknowable. 
“Honour  the  gods,  but  let  them  alone/’ 

As  another  example  of  the  religious  attitude  of  the 
modern  Confucianist — this  time,  a written  testimony 
—-we  quote  from  the  New  Citizen  Magazine  edited  by 
Liang  Chi-chao,  the  foremost  living  scholar  of  China, 
and  published  about  ten  years  ago.  “The  religions 
of  the  world  may  not  be  identical  in  their  aims,  but 
they  are  alike  in  urging  respect  of  Heaven  and  love  of 
man.  But  while  Jesus  said,  ‘I  am  the  Son  of  God/ 


72  China  To-Day 

Mahomet,  ‘I  am  God’s  Prophet,’  Buddha,  ‘In  heaven 
above  and  on  earth  below,  I am  alone  Great,’  Confucius 
said  only  this,  ‘I  am  trying  to  follow  and  support  the 
development  of  Heaven  and  Earth.’  But  really  Con- 
fucius’ aim  is  the  soundest  of  all,  for  the  edification 
of  mankind,  and  cannot  be  likened  to  the  empty 
claims  of  the  other  religious  leaders.  . . . All  religions 
talk  about  heaven  and  hell,  but  Confucius  silenced  all 
curiosity  about  spirits  and  the  spiritual  world  by  saying, 
‘Not  knowing  how  to  serve  men,  how  could  we  serve 
spirits?’  . . . The  ancients  were  stupid;  without  a 
heaven  it  was  impossible  to  encourage  them  in  good 
work,  and  without  a hell  it  was  impossible  to  restrain 
them  in  evil  doing.  Later  knowledge  became  fuller 
and  civilisation  more  advanced.  Everyone  knew  that 
he  must  do  his  duty  while  he  had  a breath  in  him,  and 
he  dared  not  and  cared  not  to  stop  one  moment  and 
waste  his  time  in  inquiring  about  heaven  above  or  in 
contemplating  with  fear  the  hell  underneath.  He 
knew  that  if  everyone  did  his  best  to  fulfil  the  law 
of  human  life,  it  was  the  true  way  of  what  Confucius 
called  ‘following  Heaven  and  Earth.’  When  the  world 
reaches  this  stage,  the  religion  of  humanity  will  prevail. 
In  short,  do  not  indulge  in  empty  talk  about  the 
mysterious  and  hidden,  but  converse  about  the  common- 
day  food  and  drink  facts'  of  existence,  and  the  teachings 
of  Confucius  will  have  become  triumphant.”  15 

In  conclusion,  we  may  say  that  Confucianism  has 
very  little  to  tell  us  about  God.  The  most  generally 
used  word  for  the  God-idea  is  T'ien.  It  is  ambiguous 
and  stands  for  a personal  Being  at  one  time  and  an 
impersonal  object  at  another,  and  no  attempt  has  been 


19  The  New  Citizen  Magazine. 


The  Confucian  God-Idea  73 

made  to  define  its  nature.  “Heaven  has  five  titles: 
In  our  great  respect  for  it,  it  is  called,  Heavenly 
Emperor ; to  show  its  extent,  it  is  called  Great  Heaven ; 
on  account  of  its  benevolence,  it  is  called  Merciful 
Heaven;  as  it  is  above  us  and  looks  down  at  us,  it  is 
called  High  Heaven;  it  is  azure,  as  we  look  at  it  from 
afar,  and  so  it  is  called,  Azure  Heaven.”  x&  Since 
Chutze  and  the  Sung  Dynasty,  T’ien  has  lost  its 
personal  quality,  and  is  identified  with  Natural  Law 
or  just  Nature.  “There  is  only  one  nature  and  no 
other.  Referring  to  its  substance,  it  is  called  heaven; 
considered  as  ruler  or  lord,  it  is  called  Shangti  (God)  ; 
viewed  as  functioning,  it  is  called  fate;  as  given  to 
men,  it  is  called  disposition;  as  controlling  the  body, 
it  is  called  mind.”  17  Such  expressions  as  the  “Virtue 
of  Heaven”  ( T’ien  Tuh ),  the  “Reason  of  Heaven” 
( Tien  Li)  and  the  “Word  of  Heaven”  {T’ien  Tao) 
are  commonly  used  in  literature  of  the  present  day, 
but  they  are  only  figurative  and  poetic  names  for 
Nature  and  Natural  Law.  In  short,  to  the  Confucian- 
ists,  the  question  of  God  and  man’s  personal  relationship 
to  Him  is  a dead  issue,  for  they  are  not  interested  in 
religion. 

“Five  Titles  for  Heaven. 

“Wang  Yang  Ming  (a.d.  1472-1529),  the  greatest  scholar  of 
Ming  Dynasty.  See  Philosophy  of  Wang  Yang  Ming,  Heiuke, 

1916. 


V 


Present  Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism* 

By  Y.  Y.  Tsu 

St.  John's  University,  Shanghai 

IN  the  rapid  transformation  of  thought  and  life  which 
is  sweeping  over  Eastern  Asia  as  a result  of  the 
impact  of  Western  civilisation  upon  Oriental  culture, 
there  is  one  phase  that  is  being  watched  with  special 
interest  by  students  of  the  history  of  religions  on 
account  of  what  it  portends  for  the  spiritual  future  of 
the  Oriental  peoples  in  particular  and  of  the  world  in 
general,  namely,  the  reaction  of  the  old  religions  to 
modern  influences.  The  disruptive  effect  of  modern 
science  upon  ancient  faiths  is  wxll  known,  but  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  the  latter  are  so  valueless  and 
discredited  as  to  succumb  readily  to  the  onslaught  of 
new  ideas  and  pass  out  of  existence  quietly  without 
an  effort  at  self-defence.  On  the  contrary,  the  danger 
that  faces  them  serves  often  as  a powerful  stimulus 
to  rouse  the  old  religions  to  renewed  activity  and 
reformation  in  an  attempt  to  adapt  themselves  to 
changed  conditions  and  so  retain  their  hold  upon  the 
loyalty  of  their  followers.  A classic  instance  of  this 
kind  in  European  religious  history  is  the  so-called 
Counter-Reformation  within  the  Roman  church  and 

1 Originally  published  in  the  Journal  of  Religion. 

74 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  75 

the  accelerated  development  of  its  missionary  zeal 
immediately  following  the  Protestant  Reformation. 
We  find  to-day  in  India  reform  movements  within 
Hinduism,  as  indicated  by  the  organisation  of  the 
Brahma  Samaj  and  similar  bodies;  in  Japan,  the  na- 
tionalisation of  Shinto  and  the  active  revival  of 
Buddhism ; and  in  China  the  frustrated  attempt  to  make 
Confucianism  the  state  religion  of  the  republic  and 
lately  signs  of  awakening  in  Chinese  Buddhism  after 
centuries  of  quiescent  existence. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  history  of  Buddhism, 
China  occupies  a very  important  place.  It  was  here 
that  reformed  or  Mahayana  Buddhism  received  its 
greatest  development  and  from  here  spread  into  Korea 
and  Japan.  In  the  sixth  century,  when  Buddhism 
was  threatened  with  extinction  in  the  land  of  its 
birth,  Bodhidharma,  the  twenty-eighth  Indian  Patri- 
arch, removed  his  seat  from  India  to  China  and  became 
the  first  Chinese  Patriarch,  thus  making  China  the 
centre  of  the  Buddhist  church  of  that  time.  Modem 
students  of  Buddhism  know  that  for  much  of  our 
knowledge  of  the  life  and  teachings  of  Sakyamuni  and 
of  the  history  of  India  and  its  condition  in  the  time  of 
the  founder,  we  are  indebted  to  the  records  of  the 
Chinese  Pilgrims,  Fah-hsein,  Hiuen-tsang,  and  I-ching, 
who  visited  India  in  the  fourth  and  seventh  centuries 
and  spent  years  of  research  there.  Only  through  the 
French  translation  of  Renusault  in  1837  did  any  of 
these  records  become  first  available  for  Western 
scholars,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  in  passing  that 
the  exact  birthplace  of  Buddha  wras  not  located  until 
toward  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century,  with  the  help 
of  data  found  in  those  records.  While  it  is  correct 
to  say,  as  Fenollosa  and  others  have  done,  that  China 


76  China  To-Day 

owes  much  of  its  finest  in  literature  and  art  to 
Buddhism,  it  is  equally  correct  to  say  that  Buddhism 
in  its  historic  development  and  expansion  owes  much 
to  China.  China  is  still  the  largest  Buddhist  country 
in  the  world,  and  in  its  language  the  most  complete 
and  extensive  canon  of  Mahayana  Buddhism  is  to  be 
found.  What  will  become  of  Buddhism  in  China  will 
largely  determine  the  fate  of  that  religion  in  Asia,  and 
on  this  account  the  present  manifestation  of  new  life- 
currents  running  through  this  old  faith  in  China  is  of 
unusual  interest  and  significance. 

The  reform  movement  in  Chinese  Buddhism  began 
a little  over  ten  years  ago  in  the  closing  decade  of 
the  now  defunct  Manchu  Dynasty.  Those  were 
thrilling  days  for  the  nation,  astir  in  its  every  part 
with  new  life.  Within  the  compass  of  those  ten  short 
years  were  crowded  together  events  of  tremendous 
moment,  such  as  had  never  occurred  at  any  other 
time  in  the  history  of  Eastern  Asia.  The  year  1898 
saw  the  abortive  launching  of  the  educational  and 
political  reforms  by  Emperor  Kuanghsu  in  collab- 
oration with  K ang  Yu-wei,  which  brought  down  upon 
them  the  fury  of  the  then  reactionary  Empress  Dowager 
and  resulted  in  the  virtual  imprisonment  of  the 
Emperor  and  the  flight  of  K’ang  from  the  country. 
Two  years  later,  in  1900,  came  the  cataclysm  of  the 
Boxer  Uprising,  the  humiliation  of  the  Imperial  Court 
and  its  ignominious  flight  to  far-away  Sian-fu.  When 
the  Empress  Dowager  returned  to  Peking  she  was  a 
wiser  woman,  and  espoused  the  cause  of  reform.  In 
1904-5  the  war  between  Japan  and  Russia  was  fought 
and  the  spectacular  victory  of  Japan  over  the  forces 
of  the  northern  Octopus  stirred  the  hearts  of  all  Asiatic 
peoples  with  new  hopes  and  ambitious  dreams  of  the 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  77 

future.  In  1908  the  Imperial  Court,  after  having  sent 
special  commissions  to  Japan  and  Europe  for  the  study 
of  constitutional  government,  and  having  received  their 
favourable  report,  announced  a programme  for  the 
gradual  transformation  of  the  government  into  a con- 
stitutional monarchy  and  authorised  self-government 
for  the  provinces  and  districts.  Had  the  programme 
been  worked  out  to  its  culmination,  China  would  have 
been  a constitutional  monarchy  in  1913.  But  something 
happened  which  deflected  the  course  of  events.  In  1908 
occurred  the  mysterious  death  of  Emperor  Kuanghsu, 
still  in  his  thirties,  simultaneously  with  that  of  the 
Empress  Dowager;  with  the  strong  hand  of  the  old 
lady  withdrawn  from  the  helm,  the  ship  of  state  drifted 
into  a condition  which  set  the  stage  for  the  Revolution 
of  1911. 

It  was  in  those  days  of  national  self-consciousness 
and  social  and  political  upheaval,  which  wrought  havoc 
to  conventional  attitudes  and  antiquated  traditions, 
that  the  Buddhist  church  first  felt  the  shock  of  changed 
times  and  the  challenge  of  the  new  day.  For  better 
self-preservation  and  expression  the  Chung  Hua  Fu 
Chiao  Tsung  Hui  (Chinese  National  Buddhist  Society) 
was  organised  under  the  leadership  of  Chi  Ch’an  Ho 
Shang,  abbot  of  Tien  T’ung  Ssu  Monastery,  Ningpo. 
The  inauguration  meeting  was  held  at  Liu  Yun  Ssu 
Monastery,  Shanghai,  in  April,  1910,  and  an  ambitious 
programme  was  adopted,  of  which  the  following  were 
its  chief  provisions  (free  translation)  : 

1.  This  society  is  formed  by  the  union  of  all 
Buddhist  monks. 

2.  With  branches  all  over  the  country,  it  exercises 
supervision  over  all  the  monasteries  and  monks. 

3.  All  monks,  formally  admitted  into  the  Order,  are 


78  China  To-Day 

given  certificates  attesting  to  their  membership  in  the 
society. 

4.  No  monk  is  permitted  to  receive  any  pupil 
[candidate  for  the  Order]  unless  the  candidate  is  a 
bona-fide  applicant  and  of  good  family. 

5.  No  monastery  is  permitted  to  alienate  any  of  its 
property  without  authorisation  from  the  society. 

6.  Observance  of  monastic  rules  should  be  strictly 
enforced ; for  violation  of  the  same  rules,  monks  are  to 
be  punished. 

7.  Seminaries  for  the  training  of  candidates  for  the 
Order  are  to  be  established,  and  in  it  Buddhist  scriptures 
and  Chinese  classics  are  to  be  taught. 

8.  Persons  under  twenty  years  of  age  are  not  to  be 
admitted  into  the  Order ; also  those  who  have  not  had 
three  years  of  theological  training. 

9.  For  monks  to  hire  themselves  out  for  the  per- 
formance of  funeral  services,  especially  appearing  in 
funeral  processions,  is  considered  derogatory  to  the 
dignity  of  the  monastic  order,  and  so  the  practice 
is  to  be  strictly  prohibited. 

We  note  that  the  society  aimed  to  purify  the  monastic 
order  of  its  existing  evils.  Of  them,  the  two  most 
prominent  are  the  ignorance  of  the  monks  in  the 
elements  of  their  own  religion  and  the  mercenary  spirit 
of  the  monks  in  rendering  their  religious  services  to 
the  people;  hence  the  emphasis  placed  upon  better 
theological  preparation  of  the  candidates  and  the  pro- 
hibition of  the  monks  taking  part  in  the  funeral 
services. 

Other  societies  that  appeared  at  that  time  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  were:  Fo  Chiao  Kung  Hui  (the 
Buddhist  Church  Club),  Chung  Hua  Wang  Man  Tsu 
Hui  (the  Yellow  Swastika  Society,  corresponding  to 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  79 

the  Red  Cross  Society  in  its  objects),  Fo  Chiao  Chin 
Te  Hui  Buddhist  Moral  Endeavour  Society),  Fo 
Hsueh  Yen  Kyeu  She  (Buddhist  Research  Society), 
etc.  Two  magazines  were  published  as  organs  of  the 
new  movement:  Fo  Chiao  T/ung  Pao  (Buddhist 
Miscellany)  and  Fo  Chiao  Yeuh  Pao  (Buddhist 
Monthly). 

This  was  the  first  wave  of  Buddhist  revival.  In  its 
nature  it  was  political  rather  than  spiritual,  and  it 
resulted  in  better  organisation  rather  than  moral 
reformation.  As  a reaction  to  external  circumstances 
enthusiasm  surged  high  at  first,  but  there  was  nothing 
within  the  Order  to  uphold  it,  and  so,  when  the  first 
impetus  had  spent  itself,  the  movement  fell  to  pieces. 
One  by  one  the  activities  such  as  educational  and  chari- 
table institutions,  lectures  and  magazines  were  given 
up,  and  the  various  societies,  which  had  sprung  up  like 
mushrooms,  disappeared  as  quickly. 

In  justice  to  the  movement  it  must  be  said  that  the 
Revolution  of  1911,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of 
the  Republic,  was  at  least  in  part  responsible  for  the 
breakdown  of  the  revival.  The  spirit  of  the  Revolu- 
tion was  iconoclastic,  especially  toward  monastic  Bud- 
dhism, and  the  Republican  Government  has  not  dealt 
kindly  with  it.  Although  the  constitution  has  prom- 
ised religious  liberty  and  equality  of  treatment  of  all 
religions,  yet  the  government  has  seen  fit  to  exercise 
stringent  supervision  over  Buddhism.  In  doing  this  it 
is  merely  keeping  up  the  tradition  of  the  past  dynasties, 
which  had  always  looked  upon  Buddhism  as  a ward  of 
the  State,  owing  to  the  fact  that  historically  Buddhism 
was  introduced  into  China  through  royal  patronage  and 
had  been  more  or  less  dependent  for  its  support  upon 
the  munificence  of  the  imperial  court.  Perhaps  the 


8o 


China  To-Day 

other  reason  for  government  supervision  is  that  official 
China,  being  Confucianist  in  its  political  and  social 
philosophy,  is  always  apprehensive  of  a religion  which 
values  monastic  life  as  superior  to  the  life  of  the  house- 
hold, and  so  thinks  that  it  should  be  carefully  guarded 
against  too  successful  a propagation  lest  it  weaken  the 
State,  which  is  built  according  to  Confucian  tenets 
upon  the  family  as  its  cornerstone. 

Whatever  the  motive  behind  the  governmental  policy, 
soon  after  the  political  reorganisation  of  the  country 
was  fairly  well  in  hand,  President  Yuan  Shi-kai,  first 
president  of  the  Republic,  ordered  to  be  promulgated 
through  Parliament  in  1915,  “Regulations  for  Govern- 
ment Supervision  of  Temples  and  Monasteries.”  While 
these  regulations  were  supposed  to  apply  to  Buddhist 
and  Taoist  institutions  without  discrimination,  it  was 
clear  that  owing  to  the  fact  that  Buddhist  institutions 
far  outnumber  those  of  the  Taoist  faith  and  that  Taoism 
has  no  monks  anyway,  the  regulations  would  fall  more 
heavily  upon  the  Buddhists — in  fact,  that  was  the  in- 
tention of  the  government.  The  government  justified 
itself  by  arguing  that  temples  and  monasteries  are 
public  institutions  and  many  of  them  are  of  historic 
and  artistic  importance,  and  so  supervision  was  neces- 
sary to  prevent  their  falling  into  private  hands.  The 
chief  features  of  the  regulations  are:  (1)  registration 
of  temples  and  monasteries,  monks  and  nuns;  (2)  taxa- 
tion of  temple  property;  (3)  non-alienation  of  temple 
property;  (4)  subjection  of  religious  activities  and 
preaching  services  to  police  regulation. 

This  action  brought  forth  vehement  protest  from 
the  Buddhists,  and  because  of  this  protest  and  also  of 
the  fall  of  the  Yuan  regime  in  1916,  the  regulations 
were  not  enforced.  But  in  retaliation  for  the  protest, 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  81 


the  government  closed  down  the  National  Buddhist  So- 
ciety on  the  pretext  that  its  existence  was  dangerous  to 
public  safety.  The  society  was  reorganised  after 
Yuan’s  fall,  but  in  1917  it  was  again  closed  by  the 
government  at  the  time  when  the  regulations  were  put 
into  effect. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  way  the  government  has 
dealt  with  Buddhist  establishments,  when  pressed  by 
circumstances,  we  recall  the  fate  of  Lung  Hua  Ssu,  an 
ancient  and  famous  monastery  in  the  western  suburb 
of  the  city  of  Shanghai.  In  pre-republican  days,  it 
enjoyed  wide  popularity,  not  only  on  account  of  its 
architecture,  but  also  because  of  its  beautiful  rural  sur- 
roundings. In  the  springtime  its  courtyards  were 
thronged  with  pilgrims  and  children  who  came  to  wor- 
ship and  enjoy  the  many-coloured  peach  blossoms  for 
which  the  countryside  around  the  temple  is  famous. 
Then  came  the  Revolution  of  1911  and  with  it  the 
battalions  of  new  soldiers  in  khaki  uniforms.  Some  of 
them  were  despatched  to  Shanghai  for  its  protection. 
But  there  were  no  barracks  and  the  government  had 
no  money  to  build  them.  Someone  with  a business 
mind,  but  little  capacity  for  spiritual  values,  suggested 
that  the  commodious  equipment  of  Lung  Hua  Ssu  was 
available,  and  the  army  could  have  it  for  less  than  a 
song,  for  the  monks  were  powerless  to  resist.  And  so 
one  morning,  soldiers  came,  turned  out  the  monks,  and 
established  themselves  there.  That  was  eight  years  ago 
and  the  khaki-uniformed  soldiers  are  still  there.  The 
droning  voices  of  the  bonzes  in  their  chanting,  the 
temple  bells,  and  the  footsteps  of  pilgrims  in  springtime 
have  all  disappeared,  and  in  their  place  one  hears  the 
mingled  notes  of  the  bugle  and  the  drum,  and  the 
measured  thud  of  the  soldiers’  boots  resounding  in  the 


82  China  To-Day 

yards  as  they  practise  the  goose-step  to  the  rhythm  of 
the  “Left-Right”  of  the  leader.  A sight  which  one 
can  hardly  forget  on  entering  the  main  hall  is  to  see  in 
place  of  the  beautiful  tapestries,  candlesticks,  kneeling 
stools,  and  burning  lamps — the  paraphernalia  of  wor- 
ship and  adoration — the  entire  floor  space  crowded  with 
stacks  of  rifles  with  shining  bayonets,  soldiers’  kits  and 
camp-beds — the  paraphernalia  of  warfare  and  destruc- 
tion. But  in  the  centre  there  remains  the  majestic 
image  of  Buddha,  seated  on  a raised  platform,  with  a 
serene  and  unperturbed  face,  looking  down  upon  this 
strange  sight  with  infinite  pity  in  his  eyes  for  poor 
humanity  thus  gone  astray,  yet  patiently  waiting  for 
its  return  to  the  path  of  peace  and  brotherly  love.  To 
see  this  is  truly  to  see  the  abomination  of  desolation 
standing  in  the  holy  place,  but  military  necessity  knows 
no  sanctity. 

The  failure  of  the  first  wave  of  Buddhist  revival  to 
achieve  spiritual  results  was  in  large  measure  due  to 
the  lack  of  a truly  great  spiritual  leader.  Now  such  a 
leader  seems  to  have  appeared  in  the  person  of  T’ai 
Shu  Fa  Sz,  a monk  of  great  learning  and  saintly  char- 
acter, and  with  his  appearance  has  commenced  the 
second  wave  of  Buddhist  revival.  As  the  first  was 
political  in  nature,  the  second  is  essentially  spiritual. 
A genuine  desire  to  reform  monasticism,  to  reconstruct 
Buddhist  theology  according  to  modern  philosophy,  and 
to  promote  human  welfare  on  the  basis  of  the  teachings 
of  Buddha  is  the  dominant  note.  Instead  of  attempting 
to  organise  a nation-wide  society  to  include  all  Bud- 
dhists, spiritually  minded  monks  and  laymen  have 
united  to  form  a society  for  the  working  out  of  the 
new  ideas  and  aims  and  adopted  for  it  the  significant 
name  of  Bodhi  (Enlightenment)  Society.  The  objects 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  83 

of  the  new  organisation  are  set  forth  in  the  following 
words : — 

1.  To  propound  the  essence  of  Mahayana  Buddhism 
so  that  opposition  may  be  dissolved,  doubts  removed, 
faith  strengthened,  religion  energised,  and  mankind 
transformed  into  saintly  and  heavenly  beings. 

2.  To  propagate  the  essence  of  Mahayana  Buddhism, 
so  that  the  wicked  may  be  led  into  loving  kindness,  the 
selfish  persons  to  righteousness,  the  wise  to  thirst  for 
the  doctrine,  the  strong  to  love  of  virtue,  and  the  strug- 
gling misery-filled  world  transformed  into  a place  of 
peace  and  happiness. 

Membership  requirements  are  high.  To  be  a mem- 
ber one  must  express  sympathy  for  the  objects  of  the 
society,  and  faith  in  the  Three  Treasures  (Buddha, 
Law,  and  Order)  ; he  must  also  declare  Four  Great 
Vows  (to  save  all  beings,  to  destroy  all  passions,  to 
know  and  teach  others  to  know  the  law,  and  to  lead 
others  to  understand  the  teachings  of  Buddha)  and 
observe  the  Ten  Commandments  (not  to  kill,  not  to 
steal,  not  to  commit  adultery,  not  to  lie,  not  to  exag- 
gerate, not  to  slander,  not  to  be  double-tongued,  not  to 
covet,  not  to  be  angry,  not  to  be  heretical).  Besides 
these  he  has  to  be  diligent  in  the  study  of  the  sutras 
and  observance  of  rules  of  fasting,  medication,  and 
charity.  The  society  was  first  formed  in  1915. 

For  effective  propaganda  the  society  publishes  a 
monthly  magazine,  called  Hai  Chao  Yin  (the  Voice  of 
the  Sea  Waves).  It  aims  to  lift  the  voice  of  Mahayana 
Buddhism  for  the  guidance  of  mankind  tossed  as  it  is 
by  the  waves  of  modern  thought.  The  magazine  con- 
tains (1)  exposition  of  Buddhist  doctrines,  as,  for 
instance,  a new  commentary  of  “Mahayana  Craddhot- 
pada-castra”  (Awakening  of  Faith) ; (2)  apologetics 


84  China  To-Day 

or  defence  of  the  faith  in  face  of  modern  criticism ; (3) 
advocacy  of  reformation,  as  reorganisation  of  the 
monastic  order;  (4)  testimonials : stories  of  conversion 
experience,  lives  of  saintly  devotees,  etc;  (5)  critical 
review  of  works  on  religion  and  philosophy,  especially 
on  Buddhism.  It  is  of  high  literary  quality  and  is 
edited  by  T’ai  Shu  Fa  Sz  himself. 

About  the  early  life  of  the  new  leader  little  is  known. 
He  is  much  sought  after  for  spiritual  advice  and  for 
conducting  lecture  and  devotional  meetings.  His  writ- 
ings are  read  extensively  and  through  them  he  exer- 
cises great  influence  upon  thinking  men  and  women  of 
the  day.  He  has  travelled  in  Japan  and  there  met  some 
of  the  leaders  of  Japanese  Buddhism.  From  his  auto- 
biographical sketch,  which  appeared  in  the  first  issue 
of  the  Hai  Chao  Yin,  the  following  is  extracted,  as 
showing  the  spirit  of  the  man : — 

“T’ai  Shu  in  youth  did  not  know  Buddhism.  Later 
I was  attracted  to  it  and  I studied  deeply  into  Buddhist 
books.  After  some  time  knowledge  of  the  Buddha 
came  to  me  like  a pearl,  lost  and  found  again,  and  with 
it,  as  with  a mirror,  I was  enabled  to  see  clearly  through 
the  changes  of  this  life  and  the  world. 

“Toward  the  last  days  of  the  Tsing  (Manchu) 
Dynasty,  the  wish  gradually  formed  within  me  of 
applying  the  law  of  Buddha  for  the  harmonising  of 
the  philosophies  of  ancient  and  modern  times  and  of 
the  east  and  the  west,  and  of  leading  the  nations  of  the 
whole  world  to  follow  the  teachings  of  Sakyamuni. 
Since  then,  during  the  past  decade,  through  circum- 
stances favourable  and  unfavourable,  whether  travel- 
ling abroad  or  staying  at  home,  whether  engaged  in 
mundane  affairs  or  retired  in  lonely  hermitage,  this 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  85 

wish  has  not  for  one  moment  been  permitted  to  leave 
my  mind. 

“Then  the  European  War  broke  out  Added  to  the 
rottenness  of  the  inward  life  of  man  was  the  brutal 
struggle  of  the  outward  world.  I was  convinced  of 
the  magnitude  of  human  calamity,  which  like  a wagon- 
load of  hay  on  fire  could  not  be  extinguished  with  a 
cupful  of  water. 

“Since  it  was  ordained  that  I should  wait  until  the 
ripe  time  to  carry  out  my  wish,  I decided  to  make  use 
of  the  waiting  to  exercise  my  religion  [contemplation], 
and  so  I ‘shut  myself’  on  Pontoo  Island  for  three  years. 

“After  that,  I travelled  in  Japan  and  Taiwan,  and 
wherever  convenient  I preached  the  doctrine.  [He 
published  afterward  an  account  of  his  travels.] 

“The  next  year,  I was  invited  to  visit  the  South  Sea 
Islands  [where  there  are  colonies  of  prosperous  Chi- 
nese emigrants].  I formed  the  idea  of  building  a 
national  monastery.  My  observation  leads  me  to  feel 
that  the  monastic  institutions  in  our  country  have  fallen 
away  from  ancient  pure  ideals  and  are  corrupt  beyond 
reform.  If  I could  raise  the  fund  from  people  abroad, 
I would  build  the  national  monastery  [as  model  of 
renewed  and  purified  monasticism] . If  I should  fail  to 
attain  my  object  I would  reconcile  myself  to*the  life  of 
a wandering  mendicant  and,  leaning  upon  Buddha’s 
mercy,  thus  travel  to  my  life’s  end. 

“When  I was  at  Pontoo,  some  earnest  devotees 
requested  me  to  lecture  on  ‘Wei-shi-lun’  [Shastra 
Vidyamatrasiddhi].  I talked  to  them  about  my  wish 
to  reform  monastic  institutions  and  my  plan  to  go 
south.  They  also  saw  the  works  I have  written.  They 
strongly  advised  against  the  southern  trip  at  the  time, 
as  the  European  War  was  at  its  height,  and  it  would 


86  China  To-Day 

be  difficult  to  raise  money  there,  but  urged  me  to  pub- 
lish my  works  and  to  organise  a society  for  the  promo- 
tion of  Buddhism  in  China  as  the  first  step  of  my  larger 
plans.  And  so  we  organised  the  ‘Bodhi  Society’  in 
Shanghai.  . . 

[Here  he  mentioned  plans  for  establishment  of 
Buddhist  University,  model  monasteries  for  training 
preachers,  encouraging  philanthropies,  etc.,  also  raising 
fund  for  trip  around  the  world  in  the  interest  of 
Buddhism.] 

“Lately  I have  been  living  in  Chin-Van  Yuan  Monas- 
tery, on  the  side  of  the  Western  Lake,  Hangchow. 
Here  I had  desired  to  live  quietly  for  the  practice  of 
contemplation,  but  the  members  of  the  Bodhi  Society 
have  asked  me  to  edit  a new  magazine,  called  Hao 
Chao  Yin  [the  Voice  of  Sea  Waves]  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  time.  I have  consented  to  do  it  for  one  year,  as- 
the  work  is  congenial  to  my  original  wish,  and  so  for 
this  year,  I have  decided  to  lay  aside  other  work  and 
devote  myself  to  editing  the  magazine.  What  of  the 
future,  a year  hence,  none  can  foretell.  But  at  the  close 
of  ten  thousand  years,  the  Tathagata  will  surely  raise 
up  men  to  establish  the  Law  and  spread  it  throughout 
the  world  of  the  living.  I shall  wait  awhile. 

“Dated  20th  Day  of  1 ith  Moon  of  2946th  year  after 
Buddha  (1920)-— H.C.Y.,  Vol.  I.” 

T’ai  Shu  being  a monk  himself,  is  fully  conscious 
of  the  weakness  of  the  Buddhist  church  (1)  in  the 
lack  of  efficient  organisation  for  the  propagation  of 
the  religion,  and  (2)  in  the  corruption  of  the  monastic 
order,  and  so  he  has  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of 
reorganisation  and  reformation.  He  proposes  to  have 
a national  system  embracing  preaching  chapels  and 
parishes  in  every  city,  a certain  number  of  monasteries 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  87 

and  charitable  institutions  in  each  province,  and  a 
national  monastery  and  university  in  the  capital  city 
of  the  country.  As  a part  of  the  national  institution  he 
would  have  a library  containing  an  extensive  collection 
of  Buddhist  literature  and  a museum  for  Buddhist  art. 
Into  the  museum  he  would  have  all  images  moved,  so 
that  other  buildings  could  be  free  of  them.  Belonging 
as  he  does  to  the  Dhyana  or  Meditation  School, 
founded  by!  Bodhidharma  in  the  sixth  century,  Tai  Shu 
is  opposed  to  idolatry  and  tolerates  it  only  as  an  accom- 
modation to  the  weakness  of  the  masses.  As  to  the 
monks,  he  would  encourage  manual  labour  as  an  anti- 
dote to  laziness  and  would  encourage  more  time  being 
spent  in  meditation  and  study  for  spiritual  develop- 
ment. In  his  account  of  his  travels  in  Japan  and 
Taiwan  he  had  a brief  reference  to  his  daily  life  to  the 
effect  that  it  has  been  his  practice  to  spend  at  least 
three  or  four  hours  every  day  in  meditation,  and  he 
has  never  allowed  a day  to  pass  without  it,  even  the 
busiest  day,  during  the  past  ten  years.  How  far  he 
will  be  able  to  carry  out  the  reforms  which  he  has  con- 
ceived in  his  mind  only  time  will  show.  Meanwhile  he 
has  been  influential  in  winning  many  serious-minded 
men  and  women  to  the  pursuit  of  the  religious 
(monastic)  life. 

In  the  spring  of  1920,  three  men  renounced  the 
world  and  entered  the  Order  together,  adopting  as 
their  religious  names,  Great  Mercy,  Great  Awakening 
and  Great  Valour.  They  were  literati  and  had  served 
the  Republic  in  public  life,  but  were  converted  through 
the  preaching  of  T’ai  Shu  to  become  teachers  of  the 
Law  of  Buddha.  On  taking  the  step  each  person  wrote 
out  a statement  giving  his  reasons  for  his  action.  On 
reading  these  statements,  which  appeared  in  the  Hai 


88 


China  To-Day 

Chao  Yin , one  realises  what  a strong  appeal  the  simple 
gospel  of  Buddha  still  makes  to  the  minds  of  men  and 
women  in  the  East,  who,  dissatisfied  with  existing  con- 
ditions of  life,  are  seeking  a way  of  escape  whereby 
they  can  rise  above  the  turmoil  and  adversities  of 
troublesome  life,  be  free  from  the  shackles  of  circum- 
stances, and  have  peace  of  mind.  In  the  practice  of 
self-discipline,  of  strenuously  controlling  and  sup- 
pressing one's  insatiable  desires — the  root  of  all  misery 
in  the  world,  as  Buddha  taught  twenty-five  centuries 
ago — men  feel  they  have  found  the  way  of  salvation 
for  themselves  and  for  others,  and  having  found  it 
they  become,  like  Buddha  himself,  fervent  messengers 
in  bringing  the  truth  to  others.  The  following,  taken 
from  one  of  the  above-mentioned  statements,  expresses 
the  spirit  of  the  present  movement  in  Buddhism : — 
“The  Law  of  Buddha  is  the  most  true,  most  excel- 
lent, most  profound,  and  most  universal  way  for  all 
phenomenal  and  supra-phenomenal  worlds — unexcelled 
and  the  only  one — because  it  meets  the  sore  need  of 
the  world,  which  is  spiritual  and  of  the  heart.  Let  us 
consider  the  recent  world-war  as  a case  to  the  point. 
Did  it  not  arise  on  account  of  the  greed,  ignorance,  and 
madness  of  human  egotism?  The  greater  the  desire, 
the  greater  the  seeking.  Blind  movement  leading  to 
blind  steps,  eagerness  for  struggle,  eagerness  for  vic- 
tory, false  grappling,  false  possession — from  such 
activity  [deeds]  on  the  part  of  many  there  has  resulted 
the  world  calamity.  To  go  forward  with  such  a heart 
unchanged,  the  more  one  tries  to  restore  order,  the 
greater  will  be  the  chaos.  And  so  to  seek  for  true, 
universal,  and  permanent  peace  and  happiness,  the  only 
way  efficacious  is  for  everyone  to  be  willing  in  his  heart 
to  reduce  desire,  to  be  contented,  to  cease  struggling, 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  89 

and  relinquish  one’s  hold.  Hence  my  conviction  that 
world-salvation  requires  the  Law  of  Buddha.  But  thi9 
cannot  be  accomplished  without  my  earnestly  and 
speedily  proclaiming  the  Law  among  men.  To  do  this, 
the  best  way  is  for  me  to  strengthen  my  will,  study  the 
doctrine,  and  thus  prepare  myself  to  give  my  personal 
testimony  of  faith.  Hence  the  primary  step  on  enter- 
ing the  Order.  My  now  doing  this,  namely,  leaving 
family,  and  society,  and  learning  the  Law  of  Buddha, 
is  to  prepare  myself  for  the  task  of  saving  the  world 
with  the  Law.  It  is  not  dissimilar  to  my  previous 
action  of  leaving  home  and  studying  military  art  to 
prepare  myself  for  the  task  of  saving  my  own  country. 
The  difference  is  that  previously  my  aim  was  the  salva- 
tion of  my  country  and  people,  while  now  my  aim  is 
the  salvation  of  all  living  creatures. — H.  C.  Y.,  Vol.  I.” 
Not  only  are  men  renouncing  the  world  and  entering 
the  monastic  order,  but  educated  women  are  doing  it 
also.  In  Hai  Chao  Yin  was  published  a remarkable 
letter  written  by  a young  woman  to  T’ai  Shu  for  spir- 
itual advice.  Documents  of  this  kind,  recording  as  this 
does  the  inner  spiritual  life  in  non-Christian  religions, 
are  not  common  or  easily  accessible,  and  so  we  have 
given  below  the  letter  as  a whole : — 

“At  present,  Buddhism  has  deterioriated  and 
reached  the  lowest  ebb.  The  main  reason  is  the  cor- 
ruption of  monastic  orders,  male  and  female.  The 
monks  and  nuns  do  not  know  how  to  save  themselves, 
not  to  think  of  their  saving  others.  Not  one  out  of 
a hundred  can  keep  the  discipline  and  read  the  sutras. 
This  is  indeed  most  sad.  So  I think  we  cannot  hope 
for  improvement  of  the  condition  unless  there  come 
forward  monks  and  nuns,  of  genuine  motive  for  sav- 
ing the  world,  with  deep  knowledge  of  the  Law  and 


90  China  To-Day 

respect  for  the  Order,  determined  (i)  to  purify  the 
monastic  life,  and  (2)  to  propagate  the  religion.  But 
how  few  are  such  choice  spirits,  like  your  reverend 
self,  and  others  [mentioned  by  name].  If  only  more 
would  take  up  the  monastic  vow ! But  some  say  that 
one  may  serve  Buddha  without  laying  aside  family 
and  social  life.  In  my  opinion,  at  the  present  time,  to 
purify  monastic  life  and  propagate  the  religion,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  shave  off  the  hair  and  enter  the 
Order.  I am  therefore  greatly  surprised  to  read  in  one 
of  the  numbers  of  the  Magazine  that  you,  reverend  Sir, 
wrote,  ‘The  best  way  is  to  practise  bodhi  without  for- 
saking the  world  [becoming  a monk].’  Now,  you, 
reverend  Sir,  are  yourself  a monk;  why  then  advise 
others  against  becoming  monks?  There  must  be  a 
reason.  Will  you  instruct  me? 

“Formerly  I was  a student  at  a school,  and  was  not 
inclined  to  believe  in  Buddhism.  Later  unconsciously 
my  faith  sprang  up  and  then  I became  convinced  that 
the  Law  of  Buddha  is  the  absolute  and  only  true 
religion,  unbounded  and  most  lovable.  So,  at  the  age 
of  nineteen,  I made  a vow  before  Buddha,  that  in  this 
life  I would  never  marry,  but  give  my  life  to  Him  as 
a nun.  I have  kept  this  vow  for  four  years,  and  many 
times  I wanted  to  shave  off  my  hair,  but  was  prevented 
by  my  parents.  I am  sorry  that  I cannot  be  a nun 
early  in  life.  I have  three  friends  with  the  same  mind. 
One  is  married,  but  she  daily  thinks  of  shaving  off  her 
hair  and  ‘forsaking  the  world’;  only  she  is  prevented 
from  doing  so  by  her  husband.  But  she  is  persuading 
him  to  become  a monk,  and  I won’t  be  surprised  if 
they  two  should  ‘forsake  the  world’  together  before  the 
end  of  the  year.  For  a girl  to  be  able  to  shave  off  her 
hair  and  be  a nun  is  the  most  happy  thing.  Now-a-days 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  91 

some  nuns  complain  that  their  lives  are  unhappy,  while 
the  lives  of  lay-folk  are  happy.  I really  cannot  under- 
stand their  way  of  thinking.  The  other  two  friends 
were  both  my  school-mates.  One  is  called  ‘Pure  root’ ; 
she  has  no  parents,  but  a brother — none  to  prevent  her 
— and  so  she  became  a nun  in  the  spring  of  last  year. 
The  other  is  only  eighteen,  and  yet  her  determination 
to  ‘forsake  the  world’  is  unusually  strong.  This  year 
her  mother  wanted  to  betroth  her  to  some  one,  and  so 
she  decided  to  leave  home  secretly.  I recommended 
her  to  a certain  nunnery.  Of  us  four,  two  have  already 
realised  their  wish,  leaving  my  cousin  and  myself  out- 
side the  fold.  I feel  grieved  and  also  envious  of  their 
good  fortune. 

“At  first  we  thought  that  by  becoming  nuns  we 
would  escape  from  the  world’s  misery  and  sorrow, 
enjoy  peace,  and  work  off  by  penance  some  of  our 
sinfulness.  Furthermore,  by  becoming  nuns  we  sisters 
could  live  together  and  never  be  separated,  which  is 
supreme  joy. 

“But  now,  after  reading  Hal  Chao  Yin,  we  know 
that  ‘to  forsake  the  world’  is  to  benefit  others,  not 
ourselves.  Having  known  this  my  will  to  be  a nun 
has  become  stronger  than  ever.  I wish  that  I could 
now  and  here  shave  off  my  hair.  I have  a few  ques- 
tions which  I hope  my  Master  in  the  Law  will  answer 
fully.  I shall  be  most  grateful.  (1)  How  could  one 
secure  parents’  and  elders’  consent?  (2)  Failing  to 
secure  the  consent,  could  one  be  justified  in  secretly 
leaving  home  and  entering  the  Order?  (3)  How  could 
one  get  rid  of  the  emotion  of  love?  (4)  Could  one 
abandon  one’s  husband  and  be  a nun?  (5)  Is  it  right 
to  persuade  one’s  wife,  husband,  or  others  to  ‘forsake 
the  world’?  (6)  Is  it  right  to  abandon  one’s  children 


92  China  To-Day 

and  become  a nun?  (7)  If  I were  a man  I would  have 
chosen  you,  Sir,  as  my  Teacher,  but  being  a woman 
that  is  not  proper.  Could  you  recommend  to  me  a 
nunnery  where  I can  go? 

“In  my  study  of  the  sutras,  I have  unfortunately  no 
one  to  teach  me.  I can  only  try  my  best  to  recite  them, 
with  or  without  true  understanding.  In  case  I come, 
across  passages  I cannot  understand,  would  you  permit 
me  to  write  you  for  help  ? 

. . Kindly  reply  through  the  magazine.  . . . 

[Signed:  Purified  Heart]. 

“P.S. — I am  determined,  whatever  happens,  to 
shave  off  my  hair  this  year.  After  becoming  a nun, 
I propose  to  reform  and  change  the  life  of  the  nunnery 
with  all  my  might.  I hope  to  ask  your  advice  in  the 
future.”— Quoted  from  H.C.Y.,  Vol.  V. 

As  yet  this  spiritual  revival  in  Buddhism  is  confined 
to  a small  group  of  educated  monks  and  lay  brothers. 
The  vast  mass  of  Buddhist  monks  and  nuns  (estimated 
at  400,000  monks  and  10,000  nuns)  are  untouched  by 
it.  These  still  continue  their  religious  life  in  the  con- 
ventional way,  bow  before  the  image  of  Buddha,  repeat 
the  sutras  without  understanding,  and  trust  to  the 
magic  passport,  Namo  Omito  Fo  (Namu  Amida 
Butsu) — “Praise  to  Amida  Buddha” — for  entry  into 
“Western  Paradise”  after  death.  The  reformers  have 
a great  task  before  them  in  purifying  and  energising 
the  faith  of  this  multitude.  Will  the  revival  succeed 
in  transforming  Buddhism  to  meet  the  changed  condi- 
tions and  demands  of  modern  life,  so  that  it  will  stand 
out  in  Asia  as  a rival  to  Christianity  or  Mohammedan- 
ism for  centuries  to  come,  or  will  the  revival  fail  in  its 
object  and  leave  this  ancient  religion  to  the  fate  of 


Tendencies  in  Chinese  Buddhism  93 

ultimate  extinction  from  internal  corruption,  and  ex- 
ternal disruption  ? The  question  is  not  easy  to  answer, 
but  one  feels  that  the  essentially  pessimistic  spirit  of 
Buddhism  and  its  conception  of  the  worthlessness  of 
life  are  fundamentally  opposed  to  and  incompatible 
with  the  buoyancy  of  the  modern  spirit  and  the  modern 
conception  of  the  worthfulness  of  life,  and  unless 
Buddhism  is  transformed  to  fit  in  with  the  new  age  as 
a religion  it  has  no  vital  message,  although  as  a phi- 
losophy of  life  its  influence  will  persist  in  men’s  think- 
ing. But  Buddhism  with  its  pessimistic  spirit  and 
outlook  amputated  will  no  longer  be  itself,  but  become 
something  else,  although  the  name  may  remain.  Bud- 
dhist reformers  are  trying  hard  to  find  a way  out  of 
the  dilemma,  and  the  probable  course  they  will  take,  as 
indeed  they  have  already  done,  is  to  return  to  Sakya- 
muni’s  Ethics  of  the  Middle  path  and  make  it  their 
creed  and  message.  But  in  doing  this  the  Buddhist 
reformers  will  meet  with  a serious  difficulty  in  the 
question,  What  is  the  goal  of  the  ethical  life  in  a system 
that  denies  human  personality  and  social  reality  ? And 
so  when  one  reviews  the  work  of  the  reformers,  so 
heroic  and  devoted  in  their  effort  to  stem  the  tide  of 
disintegration  and  to  build  up  the  glory  of  their  religion 
in  a new  age,  one  senses  in  them  a feeling  of  loneli- 
ness, want  of  self-confidence,  and  the  absence  of 
genuine  zest,  because  of  the  lack  of  an  adequate  goal. 
We  recall  the  pathos  of  what  T’ai  Shu,  the  leading 
reformer,  said,  "If  I should  fail  to  attain  my  object,  I 
would  reconcile  myself  to  the  life  of  a wandering 
mendicant,  and,  leaning  upon  Buddha’s  mercy,  travel 
thus  to  my  life’s  end.” 

St.  John's  University, 

Shanghai. 


VI 


The  Impression  of  Christianity  Made  Upon 
the  Chinese  People  Through  Contact 
With  the  Christian  Nations  of  the  West 

THIS  article  is  not  written  because  we  wish  our- 
selves to  criticise  any  particular  policy  pursued 
or  work  done  in  China  by  the  countries  of  the  West, 
but  because  as  Chinese  Christians  we  much  desire  to 
see  Christianity  widespread  in  our  country.  It  is  based 
upon  candid  study  of  the  facts  as  to  the  relations 
between  China  and  foreigners  in  the  past,  and  upon 
the  present  psychology  of  the  people,  our  purpose  being 
to  supply  to  fellow-Christians  in  Europe  and  America 
material  for  studying  the  situation.  We  also  wish  to 
avail  ourselves  of  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the 
meeting  here  of  the  World’s  Student  Christian  Federa- 
tion. We  do  not  expect  that  those  in  power  in  the 
countries  of  the  West  will  make  immediate  changes  in 
their  programmes  or  policies  of  work,  but  we  trust  that 
the  Christian  students  and  leaders  of  the  world,  learn- 
ing that  the  Chinese  people  really  have  such  conceptions 
of  Christianity,  may,  because  of  their  earnest  desire 
for  the  spread  of  that  faith,  give  publicity  to  this 
article,  that  the  material  here  presented  may  lead  their 
people  more  carefully  to  think  out  the  applications  of 
Christian  faith.  If  this  is  accomplished,  we  shall  not 
have  written  in  vain. 


94 


The  Impression  of  Christianity  95 

Again,  since  the  contents  of  the  article  concern  the 
conceptions  of  the  Chinese  people  in  regard  to  certain 
policies  pursued  and  work  done  by  the  countries  of  the 
West,  why  should  we  speak  of  the  impressions  of 
Christianity  made  upon  the  Chinese  people,  and  why, 
particularly,  should  we  call  the  countries  of  the  West 
Christian  countries?  There  are  two  reasons.  First, 
missionaries  in  China  in  presenting  the  case  of  Chris- 
tianity, frequently  take  the  most  advanced  countries  in 
the  West  as  examples,  and  also  admit  that  the  civilisa- 
tion of  these  countries  has  been  built  up  largely  by 
people  who  believe  in  Christianity.  Although,  there- 
fore, it  is  a question  whether  the  countries  of  the  West 
have  really  practised  the  principles  of  Christianity, 
nevertheless  in  this  article  we  have  temporarily  to  think 
of  them  as  Christian  countries.  Second,  usually  people 
judge  by  deeds  and  not  by  words.  The  countries  of  the 
West,  it  is  certainly  true,  have  advanced  because  of 
their  faith  in  Christianity.  But  as  most  of  the  people 
of  China  have  never  been  in  the  West  to  observe  the 
actual  conditions,  no  matter  how  much  the  missionaries 
may  praise  their  countries,  the  Chinese  people  see  no 
proofs  of  their  words.  On  the  other  hand,  the  policies 
pursued,  and  the  work  done  by  these  countries  in  China 
are  a part  of  the  actual  experience  of  the  Chinese  peo- 
ple, and  therefore  much  attention  is  paid  to  them. 
Although  those  who  have  pursued  these  policies  and 
done  this  work  may  not  really  be  Christian  people,  yet, 
since  the  Chinese  think  of  them  as  from  Christian  coun- 
tries, their  acts  and  policies  are  considered  Christian, 
and  leave  in  the  Chinese  mind  a certain  definite  impres- 
sion as  to  what  Christianity  is. 

As  we  have  briefly  stated  the  reason  for  writing  this 
article,  we  are  now  prepared  to  mention  some  of  the 


96  China  To-Day 

facts  referred  to.  It  is  now  several  hundred  years 
since  China  came  into  contact  with  the  countries  of  the 
West.  It  is  neither  possible  nor  necessary  to  mention 
all  the  happenings  between  China  and  these  countries. 
What  we  shall  speak  of  are  their  diplomatic  and  eco- 
nomic policies  toward  China,  and  the  educational  and 
missionary  work  of  these  countries  in  China. 

First,  diplomacy.  In  the  diplomatic  dealings  which 
China  has  had  with  foreign  countries  during  the  last 
hundred  years,  she  has  always  failed  to  achieve  her 
ends,  and  always  had  the  worst  of  the  bargain.  On  the 
whole  she  has  received  much  benefit  from  her  contact 
with  foreign  countries,  but  only  a few  far-sighted  indi- 
viduals hold  this  point  of  view.  The  people  in  general 
only  know  things  as  they  happen.  These  happenings 
they  criticise,  often  blaming  other  countries  for  them. 
Foreign  governments  have  been  always  reaching  out  to 
extend  their  power,  and  it  has  been  easy  in  many  places 
to  disregard  justice.  China’s  Opium  War  with  Eng- 
land was  immediately  followed  by  treaties  with  dif- 
ferent countries  permitting  trade  and  missionary  work. 
These  countries,  seeing  China’s  weakness,  have  often 
taken  advantage  of  her.  Happenings  of  very  minor 
importance,  and  the  loss  of  a few  lives  have  been  used 
as  a pretext  to  compel  China  to  give  up  hundreds  of 
miles  of  territory,  and  to  pay  hundreds  of  thousands 
in  indemnities.  Sometimes  all  kinds  of  concessions 
have  been  demanded  without  cause,  using  such  ideas 
as  the  necessity  for  ‘‘balance  of  power”  and  “spheres 
of  influence”  to  justify  such  actions.  In  fact,  most  of 
China’s  diplomatic  dealings  with  foreign  countries,  and 
the  treaties  made  with  them,  have  been  put  through 
when  she  was  defeated.  In  other  cases,  the  threat  of 
compulsion,  backed  by  military  power,  has  wrested 


The  Impression  of  Christianity  97 

treaties  from  her.  It  is  true  that  recent  Conferences, 
like  those  in  Versailles  and  Washington,  have  openly- 
professed  to  uphold  justice,  so  that  China  has  been  able 
to  send  delegates  to  represent  the  opinion  of  her  people, 
hoping  to  find  redress  for  the  injustices  done  her  in 
the  past.  But  among  the  countries  represented  at  these 
Conferences  there  have  been  few  who  wished  to  see 
justice  done  to  China.  Always  in  the  end  they  have 
put  the  benefit  of  their  own  countries  first,  so  might 
has  won  and  justice  has  been  defeated. 

Second,  Economic  Policies.  China  has  repeatedly 
failed  in  her  diplomatic  relations  with  foreign  coun- 
tries and  has  been  the  victim  of  their  aggressive  policies 
to  such  an  extent  that  she  has  not  been  able  properly 
to  develop  in  national  strength.  In  addition,  through 
internal  troubles,  the  living  conditions  of  the  people 
have  become  more  difficult.  Foreign  nations  have 
recently  changed  from  their  former  military  aggression 
to  economic  permeation  and  exploitation,  which  fastens 
much  more  subtle  and  dangerous  hands  upon  the  na- 
tional life.  During  these  years  the  finance  of  the  Chi- 
nese Government,  aside  from  the  balance  from  the 
foreign  controlled  customs  and  salt  revenues,  has 
looked  to  foreign  loans.  Looking  at  the  matter  superfi- 
cially, we  may  say  that  foreign  countries  have  greatly 
benefited  China,  but  this  benefit,  how  shall  we  dif- 
ferentiate it  from  the  quenching  of  thirst  with  poison? 

On  the  other  hand,  the  principle  of  self-sacrifice  for 
others  is  incompatible  with  the  principles  of  economics 
as  generally  understood.  It  seems  too  much  to  expect 
that  foreign  countries  should  do  other  than  seek  their 
own  benefit  and  disregard  others ; but,  the  people  can- 
not understand  when  the  representatives  of  the  West- 
ern nations  on  the  one  hand  talk  about  righteousness. 


98  China  To-Day 

love,  and  friendship,  while  on  the  other  hand  their 
governments  practise  these  oppressive  policies.  Look 
at  the  insistence  upon  the  payment  of  the  indemnities 
with  limitation  of  the  raising  of  import  duties.  This 
they  think  is  only  to  suck  the  blood  and  the  fat  of  the 
Chinese  people  for  the  sake  of  adding  to  the  wealth  of 
foreign  countries. 

Third,  Educational  Work.  The  earliest  steps  taken 
towards  the  reformation  of  the  educational  system  of 
China  were  in  connection  with  the  old  examination 
system.  It  is  a well-known  fact  that  the  schools  started 
by  the  Christian  Church  in  various  places  helped  to 
give  the  impetus  needed  to  produce  this  change,  and 
that  the  foreign  missionaries  have  greatly  assisted  in 
creating  the  modern  system  of  education  in  China. 
We  can  never  forget  this.  They  have  raised  large 
sums  of  money  in  their  own  countries,  and  have  come 
here  to  start  schools  and  train  leaders  for  China.  The 
graduates  of  these  missionary  schools  have  served  in 
different  professions,  and  many  of  them  have  won  their 
place  in  popular  regard.  Moreover,  these  schools  have 
paid  special  attention  to  the  children  of  poor  families 
and  have  tried  their  best  to  help  them.  Since  mis- 
sionary educators  have  done  so  much  to  benefit  the 
Chinese  people,  in  what  way  can  they  criticise  them? 
First  of  all,  they  say  that  the  objective  of  these  mis- 
sionary schools  was  to  preach  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  religion  and  education  are  to  them  two 
different  things.  Since  missionary  schools  have  as 
their  objective  the  preaching  of  Christianity,  they  nat- 
urally did  not  pay  as  much  attention  to  education  as 
educational  institutions  should.  Not  having  much  con- 
tact with  other  local  schools,  they  did  not  know  of  the 
new  orders  issued  by  the  government,  and  so  often- 


The  Impression  of  Christianity  99 

times  did  not  change  their  old-fashioned  text-books  for 
years.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  they  did  not  pay  much 
attention  to  the  Chinese  course  of  study,  they  failed  to 
secure  Chinese  teachers  of  the  right  type.  Most  of  the 
students  at  these  schools  failed  to  appreciate  Chinese 
studies  to  such  an  extent  that  they  could  not  tell  the 
general  outline  of  Chinese  history  and  geography.  As 
to  their  character  most  of  the  emphasis  was  laid  on  the 
side  of  obedience  and  faithfulness,  thinking  that  the 
type  of  men  thus  produced,  would  make  suitable  preach- 
ers. But  initiative  and  independence  were  not  empha- 
sised. The  pupils  were  often  left  without  adequate 
knowledge  of  world  movements,  and  of  the  great  hap- 
penings in  their  own  country,  except  for  the  meagre 
amount  given  them  in  their  school  text-books.  These 
are  the  grounds  on  which  popular  criticism  rests. 

Again,  the  principal  and  teachers  were  sometimes 
autocratic,  exercising  absolute  authority  over  the  stu- 
dents. They  said  that  this  was  to  train  the  students  in 
obedience;  but  in  fact,  it  tended  to  make  education 
servile.  Also,  without  regard  to  whether  the  students 
had  been  Christian  or  not,  they  compelled  them  to 
study  the  Bible,  and  to  go  through  morning  and 
evening  prayers,  contrary  to  the  principle  of  religious 
freedom.  This  easily  evoked  ill-feeling  on  the  part  of 
the  people.  Sometimes  they  remarked  that  the  mis- 
sionary schools  filled  the  young  people’s  minds  with 
legendary  stories  and  thus  spoiled  them.  This  criti- 
cism may  be  exaggerated,  but  it  is  true  that  the  mis- 
sionaries have  mixed  up  the  objectives  of  religion  and 
education.  As  a result,  they  have  failed  in  realising 
completely  their  aim,  and  have  at  the  same  time  earned 
the  criticism  of  being  over-conservative  in  education. 

Fourth,  Missionary  Work.  The  people  of  the  West- 


100  China  To-Day 

ern  nations  have  come  to  China  to  preach  Christianity. 
Chinese,  while  admiring  the  evangelistic  enthusiasm 
of  Christians,  cannot  but  observe  certain  points  open 
to  criticism.  We  need  not  go  too  much  into  detail, 
but  will  merely  mention  several  more  important  mat- 
ters. The  churches  of  the  nations  of  the  West,  not 
only  pray  for  the  victory  of  their  own  countries  in 
war-time,  but  also  directly  or  indirectly  use  the 
strength  of  the  Church  to  aid  in  war.  Is  this  not  con- 
trary to  Jesus'  ideal  of  peace?  Again,  Jesus’  pro- 
gramme of  world  reconstruction  certainly  seeks  the 
abolition  of  social  and  national  evils,  the  turning  of 
darkness  into  light.  But  the  churches  of  the  Western 
nations,  wishing  to  preserve  their  own  positions,  too 
often  keep  silent  as  to  the  faults  of  their  governments 
instead  of  fighting  them.  Again,  they  are  complacent 
in  the  face  of  evil  social  customs.  Is  this,  they  ask,  the 
spirit  of  Christian  reconstruction  ? 

Again,  the  Christian  truth  is  evolutionary ; and 
adaptable  to  humanity’s  changing  need.  But  the 
churches  of  the  present  age  still  hold  to  the  old  the- 
ology of  their  forefathers,  and  to  the  creed  of  ancient 
times.  They  are  not  willing  to  make  changes  in  the 
constitution  of  their  organisations.  They  not  only  do 
not  take  the  lead  in  social  reform,  but  are  even  willing 
to  be  left  behind.  Seeing  society  advance  they  them- 
selves do  not  want  to  be  renewed  or  make  any  improve- 
ment. How  can  such  organisations  show  the  greatness 
and  the  universality  of  Christian  truth?  Again,  they 
clearly  see  that  the  Chinese  people  in  general  have  quite 
different  ideas  of  Christianity  from  formerly  and  that 
the  Christian  Chinese  in  particular  have  also  advanced 
in  enlightenment.  But  the  churches,  lagging  behind*, 
have  failed  to  train  the  right  kind  of  leadership  to  meet 


The  Impression  of  Christianity  101 

this  situation.  It  might  almost  seem  as  though  the  for- 
eign missionaries  sometimes  feared  that  if  the  Chinese 
preachers  were  more  highly  cultivated,  they  could  not 
so  easily  use  them  before. 

Again,  they  know  very  well  that  the  standard  of 
living  in  all  places  in  China  has  risen  many  fold,  while 
the  salaries  of  the  Chinese  preachers  have  not  been  ad- 
vanced accordingly.  Although  they  have  seen  preachers 
resign  and  enter  other  lines  of  work  because  of  in* 
ability  longer  to  suffer  family  financial  difficulties  as 
well  as  hunger  and  cold,  still  they  do  not  seem  to  care. 
If  we  compare  their  condition  with  that  of  the  Chi- 
nese preachers,  the  difference  is  very  great.  How  far 
are  these  things  from  that  teaching  of  equality  which 
is  Christian  ! In  a word,  Christianity  as  preached,  how 
sublime,  how  profound!  but  if  we  consider  the  activi- 
ties of  the  Church  and  the  attitude  of  many  of  the 
missionaries,  how  far  removed  from  that  preaching! 

From  the  facts  which  have  now  been  presented  in 
this  paper,  we  see  that  the  countries  of  the  West  have 
benefited  China  through  contacts  political,  economic, 
educational,  and  religious.  Recently  these  countries 
have  promoted  the  limitation  of  armaments,  the  re- 
turning of  the  indemnities,  the  formation  of  the  Con- 
sortium, the  sending  of  the  Educational  Commission 
to  China,  and  the  formation  of  independent  Chinese 
Churches.  These  are  all  indications  of  progress.  Some 
of  the  facts  mentioned  in  this  paper  may  never  have  a 
chance  to  appear  again.  It  might  seem  unnecessary  to 
relate  things  already  past,  but  the  political  aggression, 
economic  oppression,  educational  conservatism,  and 
religious  unreality,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  all  these 
we  still  find  existing  in  some  measure,  a fact  which 
leaves  a very  bad  impression  in  the  minds  of  the  Chi- 


102 


China  To-Day 

nese  people,  and  one  which  cannot  easily  be  erased. 
They  may  continue  to  feel  that  Western  nations  have 
inflicted  upon  China  such  indescribable  losses,  that  she 
will  be  unable  soon  to  recover  herself  and  make  the 
needed  progress  in  various  phases  of  her  life.  We  need 
not  discuss  this  further.  But  from  the  standpoint  of 
Chinese  Christians,  suppose  they  are  asked,  Can  all  this 
above-mentioned  aggression,  oppression,  conservatism, 
and  unreality  exist  in  a Christian  country?  What  can 
they  answer?  They  may  say,  China  has  many  weak 
points,  and  should  not  blame  others  more  than  herself. 
But  as  to  the  countries  of  the  West,  since  they  are 
“Christian*’  and  “advanced”  they  should  feel  more 
responsibility  to  act  according  to  Christian  truth.  For, 
as  Jesus  says : “To  whomsoever  much  is  given,  of  him 
shall  much  be  required;  and  to  whom  they  commit 
much,  of  him  will  they  ask  the  more.” 


VII 


The  Chinese  Church 

By  C.  Y.  Cheng  (Cheng  Ching  Yi) 

Chairman  of  the  National  Christian  Conference, 
Shanghai,  1922 

IT  is  obvious  that  it  is  impossible  to  deal,  in  any 
measure  of  adequacy,  with  such  a vast  subject  as 
that  of  the  Chinese  Church  in  a brief  article  of  only 
a few  thousand  words.  The  question  is  at  once  many- 
sided  and  complicated.  In  this  paper  we  can  only  touch 
upon  a few  of  the  more  pressing  problems  that  are 
facing  the  Church  of  Christ  in  this  land  of  ours,  and 
that  from  a purely  Chinese  point  of  view. 

In  dealing  with  the  subject  we  may  appear  to  some 
to  be  unduly  bold  and  frank  in  expressing  our  opin- 
ions and  ideas.  This  does  not  mean  that  we  have  found 
the  solution  to  all  the  problems ; it  rather  indicates  that 
there  is  a sincere  desire  on  the  part  of  Chinese  Chris- 
tians to  meet  the  situation  and  to  seek  for  further 
light. 

The  missionary  body  is  China’s  best  friend,  and  is 
the  best  friend  of  the  Chinese  Church.  In  none  of 
the  remarks  made  in  this  article,  which  may  seem 
rather  critical,  is  there  any  reflection  upon  our  mis- 
sionary friends,  who  have  done,  and  are  doing,  their 
best  for  the  Chinese  Church.  W e are,  under  God,  very 

103 


104  China  To-Day 

grateful  to  our  Western  friends  who  have  come  to  our 
midst  with  the  noble  idea  of  bringing  to  us  the  Glad 
Tidings  of  Salvation.  Everything  in  this  paper  is 
written  in  the  truest  spirit  of  appreciation  and 
friendliness. 

While  there  are  many  points  of  excellence  in  the 
enriched  Christian  experience  of  our  friends  of  the 
West  which  we  desire  to  share  and  imitate,  the  time  is 
fast  coming  for  the  naturalisation  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  order  to  secure  a more  speedy  Christianisa- 
tion  of  China.  Christianity  is  beyond  and  above  racial 
and  national  differences,  and  is  capable  of  becoming 
indigenous  in  every  land ; Christianity  in  China  is 
therefore  Chinese  Christianity.  The  Gospel  is  uni- 
versal and  is  applicable  to  all  mankind,  but  at  the  same 
time  its  varying  elements  should  be  adjusted  to  the 
needs  of  the  people  of  the  time. 

It  is  important,  we  think,  to  know  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  Chinese  Church  is  trying  to  realise 
itself  and  to  bear  its  burdens.  In  the  hope  that  we  may 
understand  the  situation  better  and  thus  be  able  to  pray 
for  it  more  intelligently,  let  us  state  some  of  the  prob- 
lems that  are  facing  the  Church  of  Christ  in  China  at 
the  present  time.  These  problems  may  be  broadly 
divided  into  two  groups,  namely,  those  related  to  the 
missions,  and  those  related  to  the  Church.  Let  us 
begin  with  the  former. 

We  are  not  far  wrong  when  we  say  that  Christianity 
has  come  to  China  with  a great  deal  of  European  col- 
ouring. In  bringing  to  the  people  of  the  Orient  the 
Gospel  of  Salvation,  the  missionary  has  brought  with 
him  much  of  the  thought,  manners,  customs,  methods, 
temperament,  and  atmosphere  of  the  West,  some  of 
which  do  not  seem  to  be  quite  suitable  for  the  people 


The  Chinese  Church 


105 

of  the  East.  No  one  is  to  be  blamed  for  this  state  of 
things.  It  is  unavoidable.  But  it  has  given  occasion 
to  the  rise  of  many  problems  which  are  being  felt 
more  acutely  as  the  Church  begins  to  take  up  its 
responsibilities. 

The  Oriental  Christian  is  beginning  to  view  the 
Christian  message  through  his  own  eyes,  and  to  realise 
that  Christ  has  come  to  China  not  to  destroy  but  to 
fulfil  all  that  is  beautiful,  good  and  true  in  the  past. 
For  instance,  the  question  of  ancestor  commemoration 
has  been  a subject  often  discussed  at  missionary  meet- 
ings and  conferences.  The  general  practice  of  the 
mission  churches  has  always  been  the  rejection  of 
everything  connected  with  this  custom.  This  has  been 
one  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  many  who  would 
otherwise  have  joined  the  Church  and  become  its  mem- 
bers. Thoughtful  Christians  to-day  are  trying  to  show 
to  their  non-Christian  friends  that,  while  they  reject 
all  that  is  superstitious  and  idolatrous  in  this  com- 
memoration, yet  they  wish  to  uphold  and  enrich  all 
that  which  is  in  keeping  with  the  teaching  of  the 
Christian  religion.  Christian  memorial  services  are 
therefore  held  each  year  by  Churches  and  Christians 
to  celebrate,  in  a Christian  way,  the  commemoration  of 
the  departed  parents.  This  has  not  only  removed  a very 
real  difficulty  and  much  misunderstanding,  but  has  also 
enriched  and  beautified  the  ancient  custom  which,  in  its 
original  simplicity,  was  perfectly  commendable. 

Because  of  the  dominant  position  held  by  the  mis- 
sionary in  the  church,  the  Mission  looms  very  much 
larger  than  the  church.  Many  of  the  6,000  Protestant 
churches  that  are  in  existence  in  China  to-day  must 
still  be  regarded  as  “Mission  Churches,”  i.e.,  churches 
supported  and  to  some  extent  controlled  by  the  Mis- 


106  China  To-Day 

sion.  Circumstances  have  led  the  modern  mission  to 
adopt  the  method  of  supporting  almost  every  branch 
of  religious,  educational,  and  benevolent  activities. 
The  mission  is  therefore  a huge  concern  with  property 
in  land  and  buildings,  the  value  of  which  amounts  to 
many  millions.  Church  buildings,  schoolhouses,  hos- 
pitals, etc.,  are  realities  of  the  modern  mission.  It  is 
estimated  that  no  less  than  twelve  million  dollars 
silver  are  being  spent  in  China  by  the  various  missions 
annually,  not  counting  money  spent  on  property.  One 
leading  missionary  once  said  that  he  did  not  like  to  see 
a mission  run  its  work  in  a beggarly  way.  That  shows 
the  spirit  of  the  time. 

In  view  of  such  a situation,  the  position  of  the  infant 
Church  can  be  easily  imagined ; it  hangs  on  to  the  mis- 
sion like  the  tail  of  an  elephant.  Happily  many  Chris- 
tian leaders  have  realised  this  top-heavy  situation,  and 
are  working  and  praying  for  a speedy  change.  The 
Church,  not  the  mission,  is  the  permanent  organisation 
in  this  as  well  as  in  other  lands. 

It  is  reported  that  the  total  number  of  communicant 
Christians  in  China  at  the  present  time  amounts  to 
360,000.  Out  of  that  number  there  are  no  less  than 
24,000  men  and  women  who  are  salaried  workers  of 
the  missions  and  churches,  engaged  in  evangelistic, 
educational,  medical,  and  other  forms  of  service.  In 
other  words,  one  in  every  fifteen  church  members  is  in 
the  employ  of  the  Missions.  Most  of  these  workers 
are  inadequately  trained  and  poorly  supported.  They 
hold,  in  the  nature  of  things,  the  position  of  “native 
helpers”  to  the  missionary  leaders.  It  could  not  have 
been  otherwise.  Speaking  broadly,  the  missionary  has 
had  the  opportunity  for  getting  a better  education,  he 
has  more  experience,  a wider  knowledge  in  mission  and 


The  Chinese  Church  107 

Church  affairs,  and  greater  Christian  background. 
The  Chinese  helper  has  had  very  few  of  these  advan- 
tages. He  has  therefore  to  be  contented  to  hold  a sec- 
ondary position  in  the  mission  churches.  The  mis- 
sionary has  the  say  in  the  policy  of  the  work  and  the 
disbursement  of  funds.  Sometimes  he  chooses  to  seek 
the  advice  of  his  Chinese  workers;  often  he  does  not. 
Now  let  this  question  be  asked:  Who  is  after  all  the 
helper,  the  Chinese  worker  or  the  missionary?  The 
young  Christian  Church  would  make  bold  to  say  posi- 
tively: In  the  truest  sense  of  the  word  the  missionary 
is  the  helper  to  the  Christian  Church  in  China,  a position 
which  is  his  crowning  glory  in  the  Church.  Two  or 
three  missionaries  are  now  acting  in  one  of  the  inde- 
pendent Chinese  Christian  churches  in  North  China  as 
deacons  and  other  similar  church  officers.  Such  a prac- 
tice is,  we  believe,  sound  in  principle.  It  is  only  human, 
however,  when  the  time  comes  for  a real  change,  for 
devolution,  or  transfer  of  control,  we  find  some  who 
are  not  ready  to  make  the  sacrifice — for  it  is  a real 
sacrifice  for  those  who  have  held  the  reins  of  things  for 
so  long  to  be  willing  to  give  them  over  to  others.  The 
excuse  generally  given  is  that  “the  time  is  not  yet  ripe 
for  such  a radical  change/’  and  “the  Church  is  unable 
to  assume  such  a responsibility.” 

While  Christianity  is  an  oriental  religion,  it  has 
come  to  China  by  way  of  Europe  and  America.  It  did 
not  come  in  its  primitive  simplicity,  but  with  many 
accretions  acquired  during  its  spread  in  Western  lands. 
There  are  no  less  than  140  autonomous  missionary 
Societies  working  in  various  parts  of  China  at  the 
present  time.  While  in  general  the  purpose  of  all  these 
various  bodies  is  one  and  the  same,  viz.,  the  preaching 
of  Christ  to  the  people  of  this  land  who  are  still  in  spir- 


108  China  To-Day 

itual  darkness,  yet  each  society  or  missionary  organisa- 
tion has  its  own  special  interests,  features,  tempera- 
ments, and  points  of  emphasis.  This  in  itself  is  be- 
wildering to  the  Chinese,  both  within  and  without  the 
Church,  especially  when  denominational  differences  are 
being  emphasised  to  the  extent  that  the  members  of  one 
society  or  church  are  incapable  of  working  in  unity  and 
harmony  with  those  of  another.  A missionary  teacher 
once  said  that  his  work  in  China  was  to  give  to  the 
Chinese  correct  definitions  regarding  the  particular 
teaching  of  his  Church.  One  wonders  whether  that 
was  really  his  main  task  in  China. 

Out  of  the  1,713  counties  in  China,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  only  126,  every  one  has  a mission  place  in  it. 
The  whole  of  China  except  the  special  areas  (Mon- 
golia, Sinkiang,  etc.)  is  being  claimed  by  one  or  more 
missionary  societies  as  a “sphere  of  influence”  in  a 
religious  sense  of  the  phrase.  When  a field  is  “claimed” 
it  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  the  field  is  really  occu- 
pied, and  the  work  of  evangelisation  thoroughly  done 
— not  by  any  means.  Different  types  of  teaching,  dif- 
ferent forms  of  church  government,  different  lines  of 
emphasis,  different  types  of  activity  are  evident  in  the 
areas  claimed  by  different  missions.  It  results  that  the 
conception  of  Christianity  held  by  Chinese  Christians 
varies  widely  in  different  sections. 

Without  any  clear  understanding  of  the  causes  which 
give  rise  to  the  many  different  denominations  of  the 
West,  it  is  only  natural  that  the  Chinese  followers  of 
the  Master  should  find  themselves  unable  to  come  into 
very  deep  appreciation  of  Western  denominationalism. 
These  differences  do  not  seem  to  us  so  vital  to  the  life 
of  the  Christian  Church  as  they  do  to  our  friends  from 
the  West.  Chinese  Christians  welcome  union  in  every 


The  Chinese  Church  109 

possible  way,  and  are  only  held  back  from  much  closer 
union  by  the  inability  of  their  missionary  friends  to  go 
with  them.  Happily  in  recent  years  the  desire  for 
closer  co-operation  is  growing  among  missionaries,  and 
some  progress  along  this  line  has  already  been  made. 
Union  institutions  for  higher  education  have  been 
established,  amalgamations  of  organisations  doing 
similar  work  and  organic  union  of  churches  of  the 
same  and  of  different  denominations  have  taken  place, 
frequent  union  meetings  and  conferences  have  been 
held,  and  in  a number  of  other  ways  the  Christian 
forces  in  China  are  trying  to  “dwell  together  in  unity.” 
For  this  we  are  profoundly  thankful  to  the  Lord. 

In  considering  the  problems  between  the  missions  and 
the  churches,  and  between  the  missionaries  and  the 
Chinese  Christians,  we  are  not  blind  to  the  wonderful 
work  done  by  the  missions  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Church,  nor  of  the  noble  example  given  us  by  a large 
number  of  our  missionary  co-workers.  The  Christian 
Church  in  China  owes  its  origin  to  the  work  of  the 
missions.  We  shall  always  appreciate  the  great  work 
done  for  China  by  the  missions  and  their  missionaries. 
Nevertheless  we  have  boldly  stated  some  of  the  prob- 
lems affecting  the  relationship  between  the  missions 
and  the  churches  in  the  hope  that  in  the  days  to  come 
the  work  will  be  more  efficient  and  mutually  helpful 
than  in  the  past.  For,  after  all,  whether  we  speak  of 
missions  or  churches,  men  of  the  West  or  of  the  East, 
the  chief  end  in  view  is  absolutely  the  same. 

There  is  another  group  of  problems  which  is  more 
closely  related  to  the  Church  itself.  Let  us  make 
mention  of  a few  of  them. 

The  word  of  our  Lord,  “The  poor  have  the  gospel 
preached  to  them”  has  its  fulfilment  in  China.  Until 


no  China  To-Day 

quite  recently  most  of  those  who  have  accepted  the 
Christian  faith  have  been  men  and  women  of  the 
humbler  and  less  influential  classes.  The  better  edu- 
cated and  more  influential  people  of  the  land  generally 
looked  upon  Christianity  with  distrust  and  contempt. 
It  was,  in  their  estimation,  a religion  for  the  unlearned 
and  ignorant.  It  was  quite  beneath  their  dignity  to 
take  any  serious  notice  of  this  foreign  religion.  The 
Bible  was  too  simple  for  them  and  the  church  too  com- 
mon a place.  This  was  true  in  the  past,  it  is  also  true 
to  a large  extent  at  the  present  time,  though  a consid- 
erable change  has  taken  place.  It  is  estimated  that 
thirty-five  per  cent,  of  the  men,  and  sixty-five  per  cent, 
of  the  women  in  the  Christian  Church  in  China  to-day 
are  still  unable  to  read  or  write.  That  means  they 
have  no  direct  access  to  the  Word  of  God.  Because 
of  lack  of  education,  the  Bible  is  not  an  open  book 
to  these  brethren  in  Christ.  What  a drawback ! They 
are  thus  deprived  of  one  of  the  most  important  means 
for  the  development  of  the  Christian  life.  This  is 
indeed  lamentable.  It  constitutes  a pressing  problem 
not  merely  of  the  Church,  but  of  the  nation  as  well. 
Illiteracy  is,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  greatest  hindrances 
in  the  way  of  the  progress  of  the  Christian  faith  in 
China. 

Realising  the  danger  of  ignorance  many  servants  of 
God  are  doing  their  utmost  to  fight  against  this  common 
enemy  of  the  Church.  There  is  a movement  on  foot 
to  secure  in  the  shortest  possible  time  a Bible-reading 
Church.  Various  means  are  being  used  to  gain  the 
desired  end.  Among  other  methods  the  use  of  the 
national  phonetic  script  is  being  pushed  with  great  zeal 
and  determination.  Adult  illiterates  have  been  taught 
to  read  the  Bible  in  a very  short  time.  Portions  of  the 


The  Chinese  Church 


ill 


Scriptures,  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  and  other 
literature,  are  being  widely  circulated  and  used.  The 
work  of  the  Phonetic  Promotion  Committee  of  the 
China  Continuation  Committee,  headed  by  Miss  S.  J. 
Garland,  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  is  doing  very 
effective  work.  The  motto  of  the  committee  is  “Every 
Christian  a Bible  reader,  and  every  Christian  a teacher 
of  illiterates.”  We  are  glad  to  say  that  in  this 
phonetic  propaganda  the  Chinese  Government  and  a 
number  of  the  larger!  Chinese  publishing  houses  are  also 
taking  a lively  interest.  When  the  enemy  of  illiteracy 
is  conquered,  the  Church  as  well  as  the  government 
will  have  done  a great  deal. 

Modern  missions  have  made  the  question  of  the 
Church’s  independence  of  the  Mission  a burning 
problem.  No  healthy  Christian  can  be  satisfied  in 
remaining  in  a position  of  dependence.  Every  Chinese 
Christian  says  “amen”  to  the  strong  words  of  our 
Japanese  friend,  the  Rev.  Masahisa  Uemura,  when  he 
voiced  the  keen  desire  of  his  fellow  Christians  in  Japan 
by  saying  that  “To  depend  upon  the  pocket  of  for- 
eigners for  money  to  pay  the  bills  is  not  a situation 
which  ought  to  satisfy  the  moral  sense  of  Japanese 
Christians.  Likewise  in  the  realm  of  religious  thought, 
is  it  not  shameful  to  accept  opinions  ready-made,  relying 
on  the  experience  of  others  instead  of  one’s  own? 
Those  of  us  who  are  insisting  on  the  independence  of 
the  Church  in  our  country  are  not  moved  by  narrow 
nationalistic  ideas.  ...  We  are  moved  by  the  positive 
power  of  a great  ideal.  Every  nation  has  its  special 
characteristics.  ...  Is  it  not  a great  duty  we  owe  to 
God  and  to  mankind,  to  develop  the  religious  talent 
of  our  people,  and  to  contribute  our  share  to  the 
religious  ideas  of  the  world?”  We  believe  the  Church 


112 


China  To-Day 

in  the  country  of  the  Rising  Sun  has  made  much 
progress  because  of  this  spirit  of  independence. 

Such  a spirit  of  independence  is,  in  a measure,  in 
existence  in  the  Chinese  Church  also.  It  has  manifested 
itself  in  directions  both  healthy  and  otherwise,  and 
thus  creates  a real  problem  of  the  Church.  Some, 
dissatisfied  with  the  foreign  dominance  now  existing 
in  the  church,  are  finding  it  difficult  to  get  along  with 
the  missionary,  and  have  as  a result  of  much  wounded 
friendship  established  independent  Churches  which  are 
beyond  the  control  of  the  missionary.  When  independ- 
ence is  the  result  of  such  causes  it  is  indeed  regrettable. 
A house  built  on  such  sandy  foundation  cannot  possibly 
weather  the  storm  for  long.  But  this  is  fortunately 
only  one  of  the  motives  leading  to  a desire  for  an 
independent  Chinese  Church.  There  exist  to-day  in 
China  independent  churches  built  on  the  solid  founda- 
tion of  faith  in  Christ  and  maintaining  a most  cordial 
relationship  with  the  missionaries  from  whose  hands 
they  have  received  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  In  some  of 
these  churches  the  missionary  is  performing  a true 
ministry  of  help  to  his  Chinese  fellow  Christians.  His 
word  of  advice  is  freely  given  and  readily  taken,  and 
the  relationship  is  all  that  could  be  desired.  While  the 
Church  in  China  must  move  along  independent  lines, 
its  ideal  is  not  independence  so  much  as  co-operation. 
The  latter  is  a much  larger  word  than  the  former. 
This  is  true  not  only  in  the  Church  but  in  the  inter- 
national relationships  of  the  nations  as  well. 

In  connection  with  the  whole  subject  of  developing 
self-reliance  in  the  Church  there  are  the  three  ideals 
that  have  long  been  in  the  minds  of  all  who  are 
seeking  for  the  growth  of  the  Church  life  in  China, 
namely:  self-support,  self-government,  and  self-propa- 


The  Chinese  Church 


113 

gation.  A healthy  Church  requires  all  these  elements 
of  development.  Situated  as  the  Church  is  at  the 
present  time  in  China,  many  problems  are  involved  in 
bringing  about  a state  of  things  where  those  conditions 
apply,  and  they  need  very  careful  and  prayerful 
consideration. 

Speaking  as  a whole  no  noteworthy  progress  in  the 
matter  of  self-support  has  been  made  in  the  mission 
churches  in  China.  The  attitude  and  practice  of  the 
missions  in  developing  self-support  vary  greatly.  Some 
urge  the  immediate  realisation  of  entire  financial  sup- 
port by  each  church  from  the  time  of  its  organization ; 
some  believe  it  is  a matter  of  growth  to  be  attained  by 
degrees;  some  measure  the  amount  of  control  to  be 
given  to  the  Church  by  the  amount  of  financial  support 
given  by  its  members.  If  the  Chinese  people  are  gen- 
erous supporters  of  non-Christian  religions,  and  are 
willing  givers  to  all  kinds  of  benevolent  work,  as  we 
no  doubt  believe  they  are,  then  the  slow  progress  in 
attaining  self-support  by  the  Christian  Churches  should 
certainly  cause  us  to  pause  and  ask  ourselves  what  is  the 
root  cause  of  this  stagnation. 

In  our  opinion  the  matter  is  largely  a question  of 
Training.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  the 
Chinese  believers  to  think  that  the  mission  has  unlimited 
wealth,  and  that  there  is  no  real  necessity  for  the  few 
cash  the  members  of  the  Church  are  in  a position  to 
give.  What  is  the  good  of  adding  one  drop  of  water 
to  the  ocean?  people  ask.  Therefore  it  is  of  great 
importance  to  Christians  to  feel  that  the  giving  for 
the  support  of  the  Christian  cause,  however  small,  is 
a means  of  grace  and  a great  privilege,  and  is  not 
merely  a duty  to  be  performed.  Furthermore,  the 
giving  of  money  to  the  Church  does  not  exhaust  the 


114  China  To-Day 

whole  question  of  self-support.  The  giving  of  time, 
thought,  labour,  prayer,  and  love,  are  equally  acceptable 
in  the  sight  of  the  Unseen,  if  not  more  so.  The  rela- 
tionship of  the  mission  and  the  Church  should  never 
be  a dollar-and-cent  one. 

Perhaps  it  will  prove  interesting  to  note  the  progress 
that  has  been  made  along  this  particular  line  in  some 
of  the  churches  which  are  entirely  independent  of  the 
missions.  In  a recent  Conference  of  the  Chinese 
Christian  churches  in  North  China  it  was  found  that 
there  are  nine  or  ten  such  churches  in  the  provinces  of 
Shantung  and  Chihli.  The  total  income  of  these  bodies 
for  the  year  1920 1921  amounted  to  $23,000  silver. 
This  amount  included  some  money  for  building  pur- 
poses. The  total  membership  of  these  churches  is  2,600. 
Knowing  the  former  condition  of  these  small  groups 
of  believers  one  is  gratified  for  the  advance  made 
thus  far. 

If  the  question  of  self-government  is  looked  upon, 
either  by  the  missionary  or  by  the  Chinese  Christian, 
as  an  attempt  to  get  more  power  on  the  one  hand, 
or  to  withhold  it  on  the  other — a state  of  things 
common  in  the  political  dealings  of  the  nations — we 
may  as  well  abandon  the  struggle,  because  we  think 
that  such  a motive  is  wrong.  The  matter  must  be 
approached  from  the  point  of  view  of  helping  the 
young  Church  to  begin  to  shoulder  its  own  responsi- 
bilities. Political  methods  and  scheming  for  power 
are  unworthy  of  the  object  to  be  attained.  It  is  no 
doubt  true  that  with  many  churches  the  time  has  not 
yet  come  to  assume  full  control  and  full  self-govern- 
ment ; but  we  do  believe  the  time  has  come  for  starting 
a movement  in  that  direction.  No  buying-and-selling 


The  Chinese  Church  115 

method  is  capable  of  dealing  with  this  essentially 
spiritual  problem. 

There  is  more  evidence  in  the  Chinese  Church  in 
recent  years  that  a spirit  of  self -propagation  is 
developing.  Many  signs  of  life  and  strength  are 
revealed  here,  but  we  shall  limit  ourselves  to  only  two 
incidents. 

The  name  of  General  Feng  Yu-hsiang,  Governor  of 
the  Province  of  Shensi,  stands  out  as  a notable  example 
among  individual  Christians  who  have  exerted  a posi- 
tive Christian  influence.  Since  he  became  a follower 
of  Christ  the  greater  part  of  the  10,000  men  under  his 
command  have  been  won  to  the  Christian  faith.  Wher- 
ever he  and  his  men  have  been  they  have  left  behind 
them  a people  full  of  appreciation  and  gratitude.  This 
means  all  the  more  because  the  general  feeling  of  the 
people  is  strongly  opposed  to  the  military  classes. 

In  team  work  the  movement  of  the  Chinese  Home 
Missionary  Society  is  worthy  of  special  mention. 
Thousands  of  Chinese  Christians  are  taking  a deep 
interest  in  this  missionary  enterprise.  The  distant 
province  of  Yunnan  has  been  selected  as  its  mission 
field.  Recently  the  home  missionary  society  of  the 
Presbyterian  churches  in  the  Manchurian  provinces  has 
been  linked  up  with  the  Chinese  Home  Missionary 
Society.  This  movement  was  started  by  a small  group 
of  Christian  ladies  at  Ruling  three  years  ago,  after 
very  earnest  prayer  and  waiting  upon  God.  Ever  since 
it  was  launched  it  has  been  making  fine  progress.  Nine 
Chinese  missionaries  are  now  working  in  the  province 
of  Yunnan  in  the  south-west  of  China,  and  two 
ordained  pastors  are  labouring  in  the  province  of  Hei 
Lung  Chiang,  in  the  North.  Chinese  Christians  of 
many  churches  in  almost  all  the  provinces  in  China,  as 


ll6  China  To-Day 

well  as  Chinese  abroad,  have  joined  in  the  support  of 
this  movement.  When  a Church  is  on  fire  with  zeal 
for  the  spreading  of  the  message  of  salvation,  we  know 
for  certain  it  has  life;  it  has  in  it  that  which  is  capable 
of  expanding  and  growing,  however  small  its  beginning 
may  be. 

Much  attention  is  being  directed  to  the  all-important 
question  of  Christian  leadership.  All  the  problems 
that  are  facing  the  young  Church  in  China  point  to 
the  need  of  more  and  better  trained  leaders.  We  are 
grateful  to  God  for  the  large  number  of  men  and 
women  who  have  faithfully  devoted  their  talents  and 
lives  to  the  work  of  the  Christian  Church;  especially 
for  the  few  outstanding  leaders  that  God  has  from 
time  to  time  raised  in  the  Chinese  Church.  We  refrain 
from  giving  the  names  of  these  men  and  women  whose 
life  and  service  are  not  only  precious  to  the  Chinese 
Church,  but  precious  also  to  the  Head  of  the  Church, 
even  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Such  great  leaders,  however,  are  extremely  few  in 
the  Chinese  Church.  We  need  many  more  of  them. 
How  are  they  to  be  secured?  how  trained?  how  used? 
how  held  ? are  some  of  the  questions  that  press  for  an 
answer.  Have  we  taken  the  pains  to  discover  possible 
leaders  ? Are  we  prepared  to  give  them  the  best  possible 
training  ? How  are  such  men  and  women  to  be  treated  ? 
Can  they  be  made  to  feel  perfectly  happy  in  the  Chris- 
tian service?  Is  the  making  of  contracts  with  such 
leaders  a satisfactory  method  of  holding  them  in  the 
service  of  the  mission  or  Church?  Is  the  practice  of 
increasing  their  support  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  people  they  are  able  to  lead  to  the  Church  a sound 
method?  As  long  as  the  missions  or  churches  adopt 


The  Chinese  Church  117 

the  method  of  employing  Christian  workers,  these  and 
similar  questions  will  be  with  them. 

But  sometimes  one  wonders  how  far  the  Christian 
movement  should  follow  the  generally  accepted  method 
of  employing  a large  staff  for  the  propagation  of  the 
Christian  faith  in  the  world  in  general,  and  in  China  in 
particular.  We  do  not  place  overmuch  reliance  in 
statistics,  because  they  do  not  reveal  everything,  and 
sometimes  they  are  even  misleading.  But  if  statistics 
have  any  suggestive  value  at  all,  the  fact  that  the  net 
numerical  increase  of  all  the  Protestant  missions  in 
China  last  year  was  only  20,671,  while  the  staff  of  full- 
time Chinese  workers  in  the  employ  of  the  missions 
was  not  fewer  than  24,732,  should  make  us  think.  Of 
course  numerical  strength  is  only  one  part  of  the 
problem,  and  not  even  the  major  part.  But  the  fact 
remains  that  the  increase  of  the  Church  is  indeed  small. 
Should  not  more  attention  be  paid  to  the  discovering, 
the  training,  the  utilising,  and  the  holding  for  the  Chris- 
tian service  of  leaders  not  paid  by  the  mission  or 
Church,  men  who  are  willing  to  render  to  the  cause  of 
Christ  voluntary  service?  The  task  of  winning  China 
for  Christ  must  be  the  burden  of  every  one  of  all  the 
360,000  members  of  the  Church  before  we  can  hope  for 
the  accomplishment  of  this  gigantic  task. 

Another  problem  that  is  confronting  the  young 
Church  in  the  East  is  its  relation  to  matters  of  a 
national  or  international  character.  In  the  recent 
patriotic  movement  led  by  the  student  classes  of  this 
country,  the  Christians  have  shown  their  sympathy, 
and,  in  not  a few  cases,  given  their  support.  We 
believe  the  Church  should  be  the  director  of  the  public 
conscience,  and  should  be  the  leader  in  every  activity 
that  works  for  enlightenment,  righteousness  and  truth. 


ll8  China  To-Day 

The  Church  as  an  organisation  should,  however,  not 
be  mixed  with  matters  of  a political  nature.  Political 
parties  are  not  blind  to  the  fact  that  if  the  churches 
can  be  induced  to  serve  their  political  purposes  the 
advantage  to  them  will  not  be  small;  but  the  Church 
should  stand  firm  and  remain  a purely  religious  and 
spiritual  institution. 

The  whole  world  knows  of  the  strained  relationship 
between  China  and  her  nearest  neighbour,  Japan.  The 
Chinese  Christian  feels  as  keenly  as  the  rest  of  his 
follow  countrymen  the  injustice  of  the  high-handed 
treatment  of  China  by  the  military  masters  of  that 
country.  There  is,  however,  no  ill  feeling  against  the 
Japanese  people  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  Christians 
and  of  all  intelligent  people  in  China.  But  we  feel  it  is 
the  duty  of  every  lover  of  truth  and  justice  to  hate 
injustice  and  despotism  and  fight  for  righteousness  and 
freedom.  Has  Christianity  a helping  hand  to  extend 
to  save  the  situation?  Have  the  Christians  of  these 
two  nations  anything  to  say  or  do?  Can  those  who 
would  live  and  die  for  the  same  Christian  principles 
stand  together  against  the  common  foe,  irrespective  of 
nationality?  Are  we  willing  and  daring  enough  to 
stand  for  right  against  might?  The  world  has  yet 
to  see  what  the  forces  of  the  Christian  army  can  do, 
in  the  strength  of  their  Lord,  in  helping  to  solve  such 
world  problems  of  which  there  are  many. 

The  intellectual  awakening  in  China,  commonly 
known  as  the  Renaissance  Movement,  presents  to  the 
Christian  Church  a wonderful  opportunity  as  well  as 
a real  problem.  The  attitude  of  the  more  educated  and 
influential  classes  towards  the  Christian  religion  and 
its  followers  has  greatly  changed  in  recent  years.  The 
purpose  of  the  Church  in  seeking  the  good  of  China 


The  Chinese  Church  ng 

is  generally  recognised.  During  the  recent  famine  in 
North  China  a large  part  of  the  more  than  seventeen 
million  silver  dollars  raised  for  famine  relief  was 
entrusted  to  the  Christian  leaders  for  distribution 
among  the  suffering  people.  Missionaries  have  been 
appealed  to  by  both  officials  of  the  government  and 
those  opposed  to  it  for  settling  disputes  between  them. 
Many  are  willing  to  study  the  teaching  of  Christ, 
and  some  have  openly  accepted  the  faith,  and  joined 
the  Church.  One  of  the  oldest,  if  not  the  oldest  non- 
Christian  daily  paper,  which  has  the  largest  circulation 
in  the  whole  of  China,  was  willing  to  issue  a special 
Christmas  number  last  year,  which  contained  many 
especially  written  articles  on  the  significance  of  the 
advent  of  Christ,  and  the  various  activities  of  the 
Christian  movement  in  China.  The  country  has  an 
open  door  and  the  people  have  an  open  heart  for  the 
Gospel  message. 

In  this  connection  there  is  also  another  line  of 
development.  The  New  Thought  Movement  has  helped 
the  educated  youth  of  China  to  think  for  themselves. 
They  want  to  ask  “Why?”  about  everything,  and  to 
take  nothing  for  granted.  Naturally  they  apply  the 
same  principle  to  Christianity.  They  study  the  history 
and  the  teaching  of  the  Christian  Church  in  that 
critical  attitude.  Some  say  that  Christianity  has  served 
its  day  and  is  no  use  to  the  scientific  world  of  to-day ; 
some  declare  that  aesthetics  can  take  the  place  of 
religion ; others  are  positive  that  Christianity  has  done 
more  harm  than  good  in  the  world;  still  others  think 
the  Christian  religion  is  nothing  but  foolishness  and 
superstition  and  has  no  place  in  the  present  enlightened 
age.  More  has  been  written  against  the  Christian  faith, 
its  teaching,  its  organisation  and  its  followers,  in  the 


120  China  To-Day 

last  two  or  three  years  than  perhaps  in  all  the  past 
years  combined. 

All  this  opens  up  a remarkable  opportunity  for  the 
Church  to  bear  witness  for  its  Lord  and  Master. 
But  one  asks : “Is  the  Church  ready  to  meet  this 
unusual  situation  ?”  “Where  is  the  prophet  of  the 
Lord  that  hears  the  Message  so  much  needed  at  the 
present  hour?”  “Where  is  the  timely  Christian  litera- 
ture that  will  really  meet  the  needs  of  the  people  who 
are  seeking  for  light  and  truth?”  “Where  are  the 
leaders  ?”  “Are  the  various  Christian  forces  sufficiently 
awakened  to  the  significance  of  the  present  situation?” 
“Are  they  in  thought  and  action  sufficiently  united  to 
capture  the  opportunity  and  make  a great  advance?” 
Think  of  the  results  of  success,  or  the  consequences  of 
failure,  to  the  Church  as  well  as  to  the  nation ! 

Leaders  of  the  Church  are  looking  with  eager 
expectation  toward  the  National  Christian  Conference 
to  be  held  in  Shanghai  early  in  May,  1922.  For  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  China  a 
Conference  is  to  be  held  composed  of  approximately 
1,000  Church  and  Mission  delegates,  half  Chinese  and 
half  missionaries,  elected  by  their  respective  Church 
and  Mission  authorities.  The  theme  of  the  Conference 
is  “The  Chinese  Church.”  The  preparation  of  material 
for  presentation  to  the  Conference  has  been  entrusted 
to  five  Commissions.  These  Commissions  will  deal 
with  “The  Present  State  of  Christianity  in  China”; 
“The  Future  Task  of  the  Church” ; “The  Message  of 
the  Church” ; “The  Development  of  Leadership  in  the 
Work  of  the  Church”;  and  “Co-operation  and  Co- 
ordination in  the  Work  of  the  Church.”  We  hope 
that  some  of  the  problems  we  have  indicated  in  this 
paper  will  find  expression  and  solution  at  this  great 


The  Chinese  Church 


121 


Christian  gathering  of  next  year.  We  hope  the 
Conference  will  mark  another  milestone  of  Christian 
progress  in  this  ancient  land  of  ours.  We  confidently 
expect  that  henceforth  the  Chinese  Church  will  more 
and  more  realise  its  true  place  and  will  speedily  take 
up  its  burdens  and  responsibilities  to  the  glory  of 
Almighty  God. 

In  the  limited  space  at  our  disposal  we  have 
endeavoured  to  state  some  of  the  more  pressing  prob- 
lems of  the  Church  in  China  at  the  present  time. 
Each  one  of  these  problems  would  require  special 
treatment  to  call  attention  to  all  the  facts  which  enter 
into  a solution  and  to  discuss  them  in  relation  to  the 
problem,  but  that  is  not  possible  at  the  present  time. 
If  this  paper  in  any  measure  arouses  a keener  interest 
in  the  work  of  the  Christian  movement  in  China,  we 
shall  be  happy. 

Let  us  remind  ourselves  that  after  all  the  supreme 
'problem  of  the  Church  and  of  its  members  is  a 
spiritual  one.  It  is  along  these  lines  we  believe  that 
one  must  seek  the  real  solution  of  all  the  problems  that 
are  confronting  the  infant  Church  of  the  Far  East. 
Let  us,  therefore,  earnestly  and  definitely  pray  for 
THE  OUTPOURING  OF  A DOUBLE  PORTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT 
OF  GOD  UPON  BOTH  THE  MISSIONS  AND  CHURCHES 
THAT  ARE  WORKING  IN  THIS  ANCIENT  LAND  OF 
CATHAY. 

January , 1922. 

Shanghai. 


THE  END 


Date  Due 


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